To researchers' community,
In the research career, h-index is a key parameter to evaluate the scientific impact and relevance of the researcher in particular areas. To practical effects, as a young researcher, I realize this parameter can be critical to project good probabilities to get a tenured research position in academic institutions and/or research centers.
What is the standard value for this parameter in your countries and/or institutions? Consider it for areas such as Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Experimental Physics, and/or Materials Science and Physics.
Based on my experience, I can suggest that values between 7 and 10 are reasonable to have "real" possibilities.
I would like to know about what is considered a competitive h-index from different "realities" around the world.
Kind regards,
Dr. Simón Roa.
In Russia, to receive subsidies to finance scientific work in Sirius, an h-index of at least 10 is required for a young scientist under 40 years of age. An h-index of at least 25 is required for a leading scientist.
https://siriusnauka.ru/contests/fts-2024-2_3-01-p
You may check the results for a major grant call and search for the awarded projects. For instance, the ERC Startup grant is probably the most prominent funding for a young scientist in Europe (max. 7 years after PhD). The selected PIs had an h-index usually between 12 and 20 for material sciences but only around 8 to 12 for chemical sciences. That said, h-index is not always the most important parameter.
IMO, your assumption that "h-index is a key parameter to evaluate the scientific impact and relevance of the researcher" is wrong, or rather, it is becoming outdated. It is obvious that this "index" can be manipulated by, e.g., paper mills and citation rings, to name just two of the "methods" to increase one's so called "performance".
In the EU, sfdora.org or similar strategies are gaining momentum.