There is little doubt that career experiences are held to contribute to scientific achievement, however this relationship has yet to be thoroughly investigated in terms the effects on scientific creativity. In the present study, a historiometric approach was used to examine three areas of adult career experiences common to scientific achievement through the use of biographies. In doing so, prior theoretical work was used to identify career experiences relevant to scientific achievement, and three theoretical models were proposed to account for these experiences - adversity, collaborations, and work strategies. Biographies of eminent scientists were then content coded and analyzed using the components of the three models. The results indicated that the adversity model did not predict scientific creativity, however, the work strategies model and, to some degree, the collaborations model showed some promise in understanding the development of creative potential in scientists. The nature of the significant relationships among the model components and scientific creativity are discussed in addition to their implications for the development of the creative potential of scientists
