Is it possible to have a successful scientific career in which you never publish a single paper? The persistence of the ‘publish or perish’ narrative suggests that failing to publish, for any reason, equates to career failure. Yet in realms like biomedical research where only 3% of PhD candidates can expect to reach tenure positions, a true failure would be in not considering the development of a broad skill base which enables a multitude of career choices. Melanie Carew and Professor Ian Cooke outline their thoughts in the Behavioural and Social Sciences community from Springer Nature.