Scenarios in which researchers and scientists deliver more Open and FAIR research data tend to include research support staff who help them in preparing, managing and curating the data. The domain of activities and expertise of the support staff is often called data stewardship. To raise the level of data stewardship expertise, various kinds of less or more formal training and education are being provided. In addition, data stewardship curricula are being defined, which also relate to career paths for data stewards. Clear career paths are sometimes regarded as an instrument to properly recognise data stewards’ contributions to academia, but at the same time they might sustain the divide between academic staff and support staff.