  We quantify the long term impact that the coauthorship with established
top-cited scientists has on the career of junior researchers in four different
scientific disciplines. Through matched pair analysis, we find that junior
researchers who coauthor work with top scientists enjoy a persistent
competitive advantage throughout the rest of their careers with respect to
peers with similar early career profiles. Such a competitive advantage
materialises as a higher probability of repeatedly coauthoring work with
top-cited scientists, and, ultimately, as a higher probability of becoming one.
Notably, we find that the coauthorship with a top scientist has the strongest
impact on the careers of junior researchers affiliated with less prestigious
institutions. As a consequence, we argue that such institutions may hold vast
amounts of untapped potential, which may be realised by improving access to top
scientists.
