Via Steph Daza: a post by Matthew Pratt Guterl on surviving graduate school. Here are some parts that stood out to me.
From #8: Search for something that appeals to you and that connects with bigger issues. So choose wisely and be excited. This echoes Ruth Streveler's advice: "The shiny thing can definitely detract from productivity. So I’ve tried to learn how to find the shiniest thing, and really get clear about what the shiniest thing is, and let myself ignore the less shiny."
13. Learn how to craft and control the narrative of your career, from the presentation of your CV to web pages to wardrobes to public performances. This means learning how to distinguish between the truly impressive and the superficial. I still struggle to do this; the narratives I'm trying to write feel so strange in so many ways that they're often seen (including by myself!) as fundamentally incompatible ones. But hrgh, it's... possible...
18. Know this: there is really only one question at job talks and conferences and grad student get-togethers: “Your work is interesting. How does it relate to mine?” So do your homework. Know what people care about. I miss these gatherings; I miss professional socialization; I feel like I've been in a hole under a bucket for the last few years (probably a massive overexaggeration, but...) and that I desperately want to work on excellent teams again.
20. People will treat you like crap all the time. They will ignore you, or try to hurt you, or even try to ruin you. If what they are doing is illegal, don’t be silent. Do what must be done. If what they are doing is merely cruel, just remember, and don’t be that person. And mobilize for a better world. Basically. I will say that it is hard -- I don't know about "harder" because this is the only experience I've lived -- but it is hard to be at the intersection of a bunch of marginalizations; if one thing isn't slapping you in the face, another thing is, and I cherish the spaces where I can exhale and feel safe being myself. It's one of the reasons I want to build sanctuaries for others wherever I go.
23. Learn how to tell the difference between those faculty who will help you get things within the context of your department/your university, and those faculty who will help you do the same thing while also teaching you how to get these things on your own. Still need to learn this. Since I literally don't overhear things, accidental learning in my field only exists for me in text formats (which largely means it doesn't exist). I have to be very, very deliberate about seeking to learn academic-cultural things I don't yet know that I don't know.
And finally, I appreciate the last point from... a number of different perspectives.
30. Finally, write your own list. Don’t just copy this down. Edit it. Disagree with it. Improve it. Print it up. Put it on the fridge. Argue about it. The point of any such list isn’t to give you a pathway; it is to help you find your own.