Editors’ note: Today’s post is by Kelly Harvey, Editorial Operations Specialist at the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Publishing. Reviewer credit to Chef Roohi Ghosh.

At its core, scholarly communication exists to create knowledge and make knowledge accessible to everyone. During periods of disruption, we instinctively look to established leaders for direction. But here’s a question we are overlooking: who will lead next if we fail to retain and cultivate the next generation of academic professionals?

With the rapid advancement and uncertainty of AI, we are constantly worried about our jobs and the possibility of being replaced by new technology. However, we are still underinvesting in the people who will define those jobs. More than 85% of employees in scholarly publishing report having worked in the industry for five years or longer, suggesting a workforce that is experienced, but potentially lacking a strong pipeline of emerging talent.

For early-career professionals (ECPs), navigating this unfamiliar terrain in a field where we are not yet deeply established can amplify uncertainty. Scholarly publishing is often described as the “accidental profession,” and many of us find ourselves learning the complexities of the industry while simultaneously trying to chart a path within it. The lack of a clearly defined entry structure can make that journey exciting but disorienting.

If we want the academic publishing industry to remain resilient, investing in early-career professionals must become a priority. This means not only making the field more visible and accessible to those entering the workforce, but also intentionally developing the people already within it. ECPs create value for organizations through human capital development, innovation, and organizational adaptability.

When organizations fail to invest in ECPs, it places additional strain on senior leaders, who are left to carry both strategic and operational responsibilities. Without intentional efforts to build experience and context at earlier career stages, there is no one prepared to step into higher-level roles when the need arises. The result is more than a gap in leadership, but a breakdown in continuity that makes it significantly harder for organizations to adapt and maintain stability.

Organizations that fail to invest in ECPs are gradually creating a future in which leadership must be hired externally, and institutional knowledge becomes fragmented. Research done by Matthew Bidwell, of the University of Pennsylvania, suggests that external hires are often paid higher rates than internal hires, by about 15%. They also typically take a longer time to reach full productivity. Internal employees, by contrast, already understand organizational systems, culture, and workflows. Developing talent internally, therefore, allows organizations to fill future roles more efficiently while reducing reliance on costly external recruitment.

Early Investment Through Mentorship Models

Developing ECPs creates a pipeline of talent capable of building expertise, accumulating institutional knowledge, and eventually stepping into leadership roles. Leadership research by David V. Day emphasizes that leadership capability develops over time through accumulated experiences rather than through isolated training programs. Mentorship, feedback, and opportunities for professional learning all play a central role in that process.

Mentorship is one of the most well-studied mechanisms for early-career development. Research consistently shows that employees with mentors report higher job satisfaction, stronger organizational commitment, and greater career advancement than those without mentorship support. Mentorships can be formal or informal and promote knowledge sharing between ECPs and leadership roles.

In scholarly communication, mentorship takes many forms depending on organizational structure and professional context. It increasingly extends beyond a single organization, including member societies, peer networks, and volunteer committees where early-career professionals can work directly with senior colleagues from different institutions. These external mentorship opportunities can be particularly valuable in exposing ECPs to broader industry perspectives and practices. At the same time, mentorship can also be embedded within organizations through cross-functional work. By engaging with colleagues across other teams, ECPs gain a broader understanding of how scholarly publishing operates within a single organization.

Ultimately, mentorship is not only about guidance but also about structured exposure and skill development. Managers play a critical role in this process by actively advocating for early-career professionals and ensuring they are considered for opportunities that expand both their capabilities and their visibility within the organization.

Aligning Growth Opportunity with Organizational Needs

The most impactful development roadmaps are built by aligning individual growth with organizational strategy. Most employees aspire to grow in their careers and set clear goals to achieve throughout the year. However, ECPs may not yet know exactly where they want to go, and that’s okay! By helping them establish focused, achievable goals and revisiting those goals through regular check-ins, you are effectively setting them up for success.

Start by sharing your organization’s top priorities and objectives. Then, take the time to understand your ECPs’ interests, strengths, and emerging career aspirations. Help them create goals and roadmaps based on their strengths, as interests and career aspirations may not always be clear. From there, intentionally connect their development goals to strategic initiatives. For example, if an ECP is interested in research integrity, guide them to small projects that relate to that, such as policy development or screening workflows. This approach allows ECPs to contribute meaningfully to projects that advance the organization while also building skills that matter to them, ensuring delegation is purposeful, growth-oriented, and strategically aligned.

Supporting early-career professionals does not always require large-scale initiatives. Growth opportunities can be as simple as co-leading a meeting, presenting an update to leadership, or collaborating on a cross-functional project outside of their core responsibilities. These moments push ECPs out of their comfort zones by developing soft skills — such as leadership, communication, and delegation.

Building the Future of the Scholarly Communication Industry

Scholarly communication has always relied on the transfer of knowledge across generations of professionals. But in an industry facing rapid technological change and growing external pressures, that transfer is more important than ever. Investing in early-career professionals is not simply a matter of professional goodwill — it is a strategic choice that strengthens organizations by building leadership pipelines, preserving institutional knowledge, and fostering innovation.

ECPs are often responsible for work that is highly valuable to the organization but rarely resourced accordingly. Senior leaders focus on strategy and stakeholder management, while critical operational work remains underdeveloped. This includes sustained engagement with researcher communities, documenting and maintaining complex editorial workflows, and exploring and understanding the growing volume of submission and peer review data. It is “nitty-gritty” work, requiring time and attention, which are resources that are typically in short supply at more senior levels.

Yet this work is not only operationally necessary; it is developmentally powerful. When early-career professionals are given ownership over these responsibilities, they gain a deeper understanding of how organizations function in practice. During this process, they begin to identify areas of interest, build specialized expertise, and develop the judgment required for more strategic roles. In other words, the same work that organizations struggle to prioritize is often the very work that prepares their future leaders.