Knowing what I know now, I'd have gone somewhere like Tennessee, made friends with people like Jack Dongarra in the HPC community by volunteering for the grunt

Knowing what I know now, I'd have gone somewhere like Tennessee, made friends with people like Jack Dongarra in the HPC community by volunteering for the grunt work, talked my way into any kind of job I could get in that field, and skipped grad school. Course requirements might pose a distraction but luckily most courses can be gamed by memorizing things, so I'd cultivate my skills at spaced repetition.