How do Early Career Researchers (ECR) perceive Citizen Science (CS)?What are specific challenges for researchers at this career stage? By addressing questions on how CS is perceived in the scientific community, this contribution tackles a core topic of the conference call, namely the meaning of CS in the broader academic setting. It discusses findings from a Citizen Science Winter School held in Zurich, Switzerland. Three dimensions are defined as particular challenging for ECR and as in need of concrete measures to support CS in its goal to open up science: competencies and attitudes, academic culture, and institutional opportunities.