I think one thing to consider is that the two paths don’t have an equal % chance to succeed. Getting a tenure track position at a top 20 university is hard. Really hard. Getting a research scientist position is, based on my very uncertain and informal understanding, less hard.
Also, you can try for a top-20 tenure-track position and, if you don’t get it, “fail” gracefully into a research scientist position. The paths for the two of them are very similar (± 2 years of postdoctoral academic work).
I think one thing to consider is that the two paths don’t have an equal % chance to succeed. Getting a tenure track position at a top 20 university is hard. Really hard. Getting a research scientist position is, based on my very uncertain and informal understanding, less hard.
This doesn’t seem so relevant to capybaralet’s case, given that he was choosing whether to accept an academic offer that was already extended to him.
Also, you can try for a top-20 tenure-track position and, if you don’t get it, “fail” gracefully into a research scientist position. The paths for the two of them are very similar (± 2 years of postdoctoral academic work).