It’s a "quality over quantity" metric. You could have 50 published papers, but if only four of them have four or more citations, your h-index remains a 4. Is an h-index of 4 good? Context is everything in academia.
In academic research, an h-index of 4 is a milestone that marks the transition from a beginner to a researcher with established impact. It means you have published 4 papers that have each been cited at least 4 times hindex of 4 top
In contrast, mid-career academics typically reach an h-index of 10–25, while senior researchers or "enormously impactful" scholars often have scores exceeding 30. It’s a "quality over quantity" metric
where the number of citations is greater than or equal to that rank. ≥1is greater than or equal to 1 ≥2is greater than or equal to 2 ≥3is greater than or equal to 3 4 ≥4is greater than or equal to 4 (H-Index found) Context is everything in academia
The answer depends entirely on your and academic field .