The Frank Guide to Countries of the World for the Young Academic

If you chose to be an academic, a scholar dedicated to research and teaching in higher education, you will likely have the chance or the need to move abroad, away from your home country, and teach and research there. It’s not an easy situation having to make such a big life-decision, which country to pick, and which one to pass up on. I had an unusually international academic life so far, with research done in six different countries. Also, I have been active in neuroscience as well as in fish biology (not as distinct as they sound, fish have brains!), so I probably have a wider point of view than someone who spent his whole life in only one field.

The observations and experiences I describe here are my own, and someone older/younger or in a different uni in one of the countries I cover could have had different experiences; I do think that mine were somewhat typical. And, I am not trying to be negative/cynical/funny here, but frank: writing “great place, everyone is cool” about each of these science nations would not amount to much information and advice. I’m trying to cover the good, bad and the ugly.  So, here we go, these the science countries I experienced, if I can recommend sciencing there (I can in five out of six), and what to look out for:

Philippines

When thinking about science powerhouses, the Philippines don’t necessarily come to one’s mind first, but there is excellent intellectual interaction to be had in the archipelago. I’ve had lots of scientifically and personally very positive interactions with Filipino scientists, and learned lots from them about marine science in the decade I’ve been in the country on-and-off.

What’s noticeable is that there is a strong practical side to Philippine (marine) science. This makes a lot of sense – there are millions of people depending on fish for their dietary needs, and understanding fisheries and marine protected areas is rightfully a high priority. Ivory-tower-esque academic disputes are less intensively attended to.

There is less research funding than in Europe or the US, but there is some. The one caveat is that the functioning of institutions is a hit-and-miss. Generally, businesses and public institutions are just not as well organized as they are in Europe, and move slower. This, in my opinion, has historical reasons: For 300+ years, public institutions in the Philippines were institutions by the Spanish colonialists, meant to steal resources from the Philippines. There was rightfully no motivation to make these institutions run well. This kind of mentality generally takes generations to change. The problem also exists within some academic/research institutions in the country. But there are also some very well-run institutions, typically run by women, for some reason. Just don’t be easily disappointed in this regard.

Ideal situation: Have foreign funding, collaborate with the excellent scientists in the Philippines, and do your fieldwork there if you are an ecology person.

Australia

Before I was based in the Philippines, I was living in Australia. In terms of quality of life, it doesn’t get any better than Australia, if you can somewhat afford it. Fun, easygoing culture, unbelievably large stretches of unbelievable, pristine nature left, and culture & art-dense cities in Melbourne and Sydney. Why does that matter for this discussion of countries as places to do science? You already noticed from the paragraph above that the personal and the cultural factors play a big role in shaping how academic science runs in a country. You’ll typically have a good time in Oz, and that helps in keeping your motivation to do science up.

There is a strong tradition in bothe neuroscience as well as in marine biology in Australia.

But, there are again a few historical-psychological reasons why academic science runs in Australia the way it does. Australia started out as a prison colony (except SA, and everyone from there will quickly tell you so!). So, what do you do when you get put of prison? Barbecue, drink, screw, and maybe play a game of rugby with your mates. Modern Australian society still seems to focus on these points. Yes, universities are needed to educate doctors and engineers ect. But science for the sake of science has a much lesser standing than for instance in the US. The question asked to the academic in Oz was often: “how much money did you make this university”, and not “what amazing things did you find out”. I remember getting some kind of mediocre research grant, and colleagues would congratulate me as if I had won the heavyweight championship of the world. There was a massive focus on getting research grants, very un-subtly enforced by the massively overpaid top university administrators. When I published a really good paper (in a top journal!) which elegantly brought together applied mathematics and neuroscience, almost no one cared.

Australian universities – at least some of them – used to be businesses indirectly selling visas. International students would pay unusually high tuition fees for somewhat mediocre curricula, BUT then could apply for permanent residency (leading to citizenship) once they had earned (paid for) their degree. An attractive proposition if you are originally from an overcrowded, politically unfree nation and can afford it. Still, not what a university is supposed to do, in my opinion. Scientific output served as a decoration for these visa-sales-unis, to make them look better for prospective students. No university official spelled this racket out like that, but it was still quite obvious that this is what was going on.

When the bizarrely draconic Australian covid-response made international travel almost impossible and the international students stayed away, this business model collapsed. In response Australian unis sacked thousands of faculty and staff, since they didn’t produce any more income. Having a university professor as a mentor, and as someone producing knowledge seemed like an afterthought.

Finally, Aussie academics often have this very odd desire to be British. The motherland, we adore it! I remember a presentation by a dude from London, where the director of the institute I was a part of was nearly losing it due to his enthusiasm for the guest. What then followed was a really mediocre talk by the Brit, lacking error bars in graphs where it was a grave error to have none. Still, the guy was from great Great Britain, hence how blessed are we to have him over: Such was the general vibe that day.

The last few paragraphs sounds less positive than my experience in Australia actually was. I was scientifically productive, published a bunch of nice papers and had very fruitful interactions. The way scientists communicate is relaxed-Anglo-Saxon: everyone is on a first name basis, and you can say something even if you are “only” a grad student. There is often enough funding around. So, yes, Australia, great place to live, a good place to do science, but not a great one.

Check out my playlist with interviews with scientists from around the world, about all kinds of interesting topics:

Japan

Japan is a modern, highly developed country which is world-leading in many fields of science and technology. Nevertheless, I can absolutely not recommend moving there as a scientist. I was sciencing in Japan for five years, roughly at the level of an ass-istant professor. During that time, I ended up with zero research papers published in collaboration with Japanese colleagues. This is in sharp contrast to my usual modus operandi (I have papers with colleagues from Germany, the US, UK, Philippines, France, Australia, NZ, South Africa, Israel, Belgium and Finland).

The terribly compulsive-obsessive academic bureau-crazy also stood out negatively. That can be a problem in academia, generally, all over the world. But tight, strictly enforced, often completely bizarre rules vibe well with the Japanese mentality. This made the academic bureau-crazy problem worse.

Generally, frankly, the Japanese don’t like foreigners. Don’t be deceived by the smiling. Being polite is not the same as being friendly. I saw “Japanese only” signs on the doors of restaurants, and at other times me & my mates weren’t let into a restaurant because it was “full”, despite the fact that it was obviously near-empty. I had similar experiences in everyday life multiple, multiple times. This rampant xenophobia, together with the generally very poor English language skills of even highly educated people naturally impacts the interaction with foreign scientists. Add to this a very hierarchical society, where folks just a few years junior are reluctant to talk to more senior scientists, and you’ll end up with an academic scene where it’s difficult to start up a scientific discussion. And, very few I had with Japanese colleagues in half a decade.

I will never forget the rows of sleeping Japanese graduate students during scientific talks by international guests. They were essentially forced to attend by their professors, but since they could understand very little English, they decided to nap through often the entire lecture. Such was, generally, the level of scientific exchange I experienced in Japan.

So, yes, visit Japan to drink sake and photograph the cherry blossoms, but my recommendation is don’t move there in the course of your scientific career.

California

I spent three years at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA, which in many regards was the scientific time of my life. I was surrounded by brilliant people, funding was good, and the scientific work ethic was very high: in the week leading up to the yearly big neuroscience conference, the lab was crowded and busy at 9 pm.

Academic science in the US is highly competitive. Junior faculty often have to go from one research grant to the next to keep their operations running. Each of these grants is handed out in a competitive manner. Losing one round of the battle for funding can end it all. This is not for the faint of heart. You might spend a lot of weekends writing grants if your career brings you there.

One caveat is that the new US government, as of early 2025, has cut down on research funding drastically. This might blow over once the political winds change again. Who knows. I have high confidence in the resilience of US science as a whole, given the large number of highly determined scientists I met over there.

Austria

I did my undergraduate thesis work in molecular biology in Austria in 1997, and went back as a visiting professor tat the Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology at the end of last year. This paragraph is about my recent stay in Austria, not the thesis time, which was fine too. I had a blast. The vibe was friendly, I met scientists from all over the world.

Being a visitor is an ideal position – you have all the goodies and none of the nonsense of academic life.

One statement made by one of my hosts, which stuck with me was that “in Austria, you can still do basic science”. I met colleagues who were working on small and rare groups of marine invertebrates. Not the kind of science which will produce commercial products. Still, this fascinating research was funded in Austria.

Germany

I was a grad student at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research from 1998 to 2002. I had a fantastic time. Lots of resources, very smart people, vibrant interactions. I might have been too young and naïve to see any grains of salt. Also, my native language is German; however, English is routinely used in German academic institutions, so if you can’t speak German, you wouldn’t have problems, I would think. Also, I can’t judge how much of a drop-off there is between the top Max Plancks and the less prestigious universities.

Portrait of the marine scientist as a somewhat young-ish man.

I hope these helped some young grad student, post doc or aspiring young scientist who wants to become one, somewhere, who is pondering job offers from the big, wide world.

Best Fishes,

Klaus