Book Review: Izabela Wagner (2011), Becoming Transnational Professional. Kariery i mobilność polskich elit naukowych

Becoming Transnational Professional. Careers and Mobility of Polish Scientific Elites by Izabela Wagner is a monograph on dynamics of careers and mobility of life-science Polish researchers who become international elite members. It presents original empirical material based mainly on qualitative methods. Therefore the book fills the gap in highly skilled elite migrants mobility research. The basis for the analysis of the dynamics and career building in life-science researchers' world is constituted by two ethnographic studies started by the author in 2003 and done in different countries (i.e. France, Poland, Germany, USA). This methodologically original research conducted over the course of many years allows to explore life-science researchers socialisation into elite circles and provides detailed descriptions and examples of this process. It also allows to look at the brain drain problem from different perspective and uncovers the concept of career coupling in the social world of elite scientists. The author focuses on impact of prestigious scholarships and grants on careers of young scientists as well on long-term consequences of their mobility that includes three main stages. It is argued that the analysis of transmobility developed by the author can also be transferred to other professional fields