Perceptions by Early Career Tropical Researchers on the Impact of COVID-19 Six Months into the Pandemic

The impacts of COVID-19 on early career tropical researchers are diverse and complex, including lack of funding opportunities, limitations to conducting fieldwork in remote places, reduced collaborations and networking, and difficulties when living and collecting data abroad. Here, we examine the current and future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on this population through a survey of 213 students and early career tropical researchers from around the world. As of September 2020, 55% of participants had already experienced financial repercussions due to the pandemic. Future worries were diverse and included equal concern regarding advancement (collaborations and networking), job uncertainty, fieldwork, and funding, as well as mental health concerns. Successful strategies to support student and early career researchers with regards to the pandemic should include mentoring from those in more advanced career positions on how to reframe research that is no longer feasible to complete as originally intended. Additionally, those responsible for hiring decisions should not penalize applicants for gaps in productivity during this time.