I was a grad-student at one of the top-5 schools. It should be realized that academia is as much a popularity game as the rest of life. It's better not fall int

I was a grad-student at one of the top-5 schools. It should be realized that academia is as much a popularity game as the rest of life. It's better not fall into the trap of the sage-like pursuit of truth image. Much of what you publish will be tiny tweaks to established stuff - ignoring incremental (even if banal) stuff for the other is very disastrous and lonesome. For this reason, I feel it is better bet to start with newly-joined faculty, since they have more skin in the game. The established ones likely won't have time/or care about your outcomes (and it's too easy to be stuck in that position).