Each year, the most talented high school students from around the world participate in international Olympiads. In this paper, we investigate the career paths of participants in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO), and the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO). Our sample includes 2,642 participants from 22 countries, each of which had at least 80 percent of its participants earn medals over a decade. The main aim of this study is to examine whether participation in different international Olympiad subjects is associated with differences in participants’ long-term career trajectories. We find that international mobility and attendance at prestigious global universities do not vary significantly by Olympiad type, but are instead largely country-dependent. In contrast, university major choice, PhD field, publication performance, and occupational outcomes vary strongly by Olympiad subject. We further show that publication performance is positively correlated across Olympiad types within countries, highlighting the importance of country-level context alongside subject-specific specialization. Zhou and Liu ( 2009 ), for example, study Chinese IMO gold medalists and find that many later completed PhDs and pursued academic careers in mathematics or computer science. Wu & Chen ( 2001 ) track the early careers of Taiwanese participants in the Chemistry and Physics Olympiads and report that more than 70 percent of IPhO and IChO participants pursued undergraduate degrees in physics and chemistry, respectively. Campbell & Walberg ( 2010 ) analyze winners of the U.S. national Olympiads in chemistry, physics, and mathematics and show that they typically attend prestigious universities at both the undergraduate and PhD levels and often pursue careers in scientific or computer-related fields. However, because their analysis pools winners across Olympiad types, it does not allow for comparisons across different Olympiad subjects. Other studies highlight how Olympiad participation may shape later academic choices and motivation. ( 2023 ) similarly show that financial constraints limit access to undergraduate education abroad even among extremely talented students. Related evidence is provided by Yuret ( 2024 ), who finds that the career trajectories and migration decisions of IMO participants are strongly shaped by home-country conditions. Extending this line of inquiry, Yuret (forthcoming) compares European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad medalists with matched male IMO participants from the same countries and cohorts and finds that, while female medalists are just as likely to attend prestigious universities, they are less likely to major in mathematics and less likely to publish academic papers. In particular, Table  4 summarizes only those participants employed at firms with at least ten Olympiad participants, and the publication analysis is restricted to PhD holders. These results are useful for characterizing patterns in observable later-career outcomes, but they should be interpreted as descriptive evidence for selected subpopulations rather than as fully representative of the entire sample of Olympiad participants. Subject to these limitations, the findings suggest several implications for education policy and the design of programs for gifted students. First, Olympiads appear to channel participants into relatively narrow academic trajectories at an early stage. Conclusion This study examines the long-run educational and career outcomes of individuals who demonstrated exceptional ability in mathematics, physics, and chemistry through participation in international Olympiads. Using a large multi-country dataset, the paper The microeconomic determinants of emigration and return migration of the best and brightest: Evidence from the Pacific. Journal of Development Economics, 95 (1), 18–29. Article Google Scholar Harzing, A. W., & Giroud, A. (2014). The competitive advantage of nations: An application to academia. Journal of Informetrics, 8 (1), 29–42. Article Google Scholar Jung, J. Y., & Lee, J. (2021). After the international mathematical Olympiad: The educational/career decisions and the development of mathematical talent of former Australian Olympians. Gifted Child Quarterly, 65 (3), 235–261. Article Google Scholar Kim, D., Bankart, C. A., & Isdell, L. (2011). Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 12 (1), 3–54. Article Google Scholar Wu, W. T., & Chen, J. D. (2001). A follow-up study of Taiwan Physics and Chemistry Olympians: The role of environmental influences in talent development. Gifted and Talented International, 16 (1), 16–26. Article Google Scholar Yuret, T. (2015). Interfield comparison of academic output by using department level data. Scientometrics, 105 , 1653–1664. Article Google Scholar Yuret, T. (2024). Career paths of the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) medalists. Scientometrics, 129 (6), 3469–3491. Article Google Scholar Yuret, T. (forthcoming). Career Paths of European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) Medalists. Gifted Child Quarterly. Zeidner, M., & Schleyer, E. J. (1999). The big-fish–little-pond effect for academic self-concept, test anxiety, and school grades in gifted children. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 24 (4), 305–329. Article Google Scholar Zhou, H., & Liu, R. (2009). The Olympic Mathematics Education in China. Research in Mathematical Education, 13 (4), 331–339. Google Scholar Download references Funding Open access funding provided by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK). No funding was received for conducting this study. Copy shareable link to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Keywords International Mathematical Olympiad International Physics Olympiad International Chemistry Olympiad Career paths International mobility Publication performance Profiles Tolga Yuret View author profile Advertisement