Scientific communities act a lot like marketplaces. There are surges and falls in demand for knowledge, movement of talented individuals in and out of the space, and fierce competition for resources. The consequence of this is that the research marketplace ends up shaping scientific progress, not only because the market controls which ideas are accepted and rejected, but equally importantly by controlling who gets to participate in the running of the marketplace. This chapter is concerned with how supply and demand works in the world of research, and how people enter the scientific marketplace. Additionally, the chapter investigates how early career setbacks, contrary to expectations, can result in better researchers down the line. The final part of the chapter is concerned with how we can improve the conditions for researchers in order to retain scientific talent.