Communications of the ACM
Careers Going Global
Credit: New Scientist
Having a CV that looks like a much-stamped passport is increasingly seen as the signature of an ambitious and motivated young scientist. "In some countries, such as Austria and Germany, going abroad for two years is pretty much a requirement," says Walter Meissl, who has just returned to Austria after a medical physics postdoc in Japan. "It is an unwritten rule."
A recent report published by the Royal Society in London found that more than 35 percent of articles published in international journals involve international collaborations, a 10 percent increase on 15 years ago. According to a government report, those who left the UK for two years and returned were 66 percent more productive by papers published.
While the statistics suggest that working abroad is linked with industriousness — and therefore your competitive edge — in an increasingly international playing field, relocating is still a very personal decision. For others, it was less a matter of choice. "My subject of study was very narrow and my supervisor was leaving the lab, so to move forward I needed to move away," says Vanessa Diaz, who moved to the École Centrale de Lille in France after graduating in mechanical engineering in Venezuela.
From New Scientist
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