The neo-liberal university not only changes systems of governance but also impacts on how subject positions are valued. These changes justify critical questions on how academics manoeuvre in academia. In this study focus is on the told experiences of 18 researchers who describe how they made an excellent career in academia. The results show that most of the researchers express awareness about a performative culture in terms of how it is affecting their careers and how they should make mindful and rewarding choices. Accordingly, the "excellent researcher" is expected to know how to use specific locations in order to move in a profitable way. Some express that they move as they like, due to their individual competence. The results also illustrate how women more than men express uncertainties and complex self-images that create barriers (mental and physical). Men seem to think less about their conditions than women, and express clear views about where to go and how to move. Women move less distinctly and less collaborative, but also seem less rewarded. Many of the women appear anxious, especially in relation to the boundaries between private- and work-life, which partly could disable them in using their capacity of making distinct choices in their career.