This article advances the thinking of Thompson, Conaway and Dolan's "Undergraduate students' development of social, cultural, and human capital in a network research experience". Set against a background of change in the biosciences, and participation, it firstly explores ideas of what it means to be a scientist, then challenges the current view of the apprenticeship model of career trajectory, before going onto to consider the nature of participation in communities of practice and issues related to underrepresented minority groups in science. Central to this analysis is the place that the notion of "habitus" plays in thinking about shaping future scientists and the how this can both support, but also suppress, opportunities for individuals through a maintenance of the status quo. [This review essay addresses issues raised in Jennifer Thompson, Evan Conaway and Erin Dolan's paper entitled: "Undergraduate Students' Development of Social, Cultural, and Human Capital in a Network Research Experience" (EJ1121594).