As researchers advance in their careers, they often have space to pursue professional activities outside their core research and teaching duties. They may, for example, choose to get involved in communicating science to the public or to take part in the management of their department or institution. Younger scientists should, of course, lay a solid research foundation before moving on to such things, but having a broad view of what might be coming can help them make better choices and make their profession more rewarding.
Achieving a comprehensive view of what research careers entail has just become easier now that the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) has released a referential list of all the professional activities scientists should or could pursue across all disciplines and career stages. The Referential for Researcher's Professional Activities, available in French and English, is the fruit of a 4-year project called MCPI: Métier de chercheur-e, profils et itinéraires.
Rather than providing a rigid set of duties researchers should perform or a model of the typical researcher, "the referential list gathers a body of activities that are all inherent to the profession of researcher, but can be performed in a smaller or greater extent relative to the profile of the researcher him or herself," the CNRS document states. The authors add that the document may be used either by scientists or host institutions to help them gauge career progression.
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