My Ph.D. wasn't from a top 20 school. But my thesis advisor was a student of a well known Nobel Laureate (he won the prize while she was his student). I'd not

My Ph.D. wasn't from a top 20 school. But my thesis advisor was a student of a well known Nobel Laureate (he won the prize while she was his student). I'd noticed this trend in faculty back in my undergrad days, when looking at grad schools to attend. Things working against me when I was finishing up (early-mid 90s), included being at a lower tier school, the massive overproduction of Ph.D.s in physics, combined with reducing NSF and related budgets, and the fall of the USSR, which resulted in extremely senior faculty decamping from Russia and taking every possible post in the west. This was the time of the Young Scientists Network in the late 80s through mid 90s. Many other soon to be and freshly minted Ph.D.s learned of interminable post-docs, getting your first tenure track when you turned 40 or so, and not getting a tenure decision until you were 48 or so. I skipped the post doc, and went into industry. Means I didn't get to do much science (occasional collaborations here and there). But I was able to support a family. That latter part was more important to me than anything. As my daughter shortly decamps for grad school, we are telling her how it really is, and what to expect. My simple guide for her was do what you love, but have a realistic plan to be able to support yourself at the end of the process. No one ever said that the system is fair. It isn't. But then, neither is life.