In the highly competitive research sector, performance pressure is leading to the stratification of the academic profession, and to difficulties for early-career researchers. Support is therefore vital for talent retention, and to avoid 'brain drain'. However, limited research has distinguished varying models of professional support in research careers. After differentiating mentoring from co-worker support, and early-career scholars from senior researchers, this study performed statistical analysis on data collected from a representative survey of 840 scientists in Poland. Its intention was to discover the prevailing models of professional support in research in Polish academia, and to identify their relationship with job satisfaction and scientific development, teamwork, and stability of employment. The findings revealed that mentees in traditional hierarchical relationships received comprehensive support, while those who received assistance from their co-workers reported less perceptible benefits. Moreover, gender was found to be an important aspect of professional support relationships, with most scientists being supported by mentors of the same gender as themselves. Finally, differences were observed between the work environment assessments of the recipients of different support models. This paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications for academics, academic developers, and institutions which face wide disparities in supporting academic development, and are affected by turnover of early-career staff.