What advice would you have wished you got at the start of your career?

[MarathonRunner]

I wish I had gone straight through to graduate studies, and not worked between my degrees. Funding institutes don't seem to treat non-trades very nicely, especially when funding applications can only include items within the past five years. So anything you did earlier is discounted, even if you worked outside of academia during that period.

[lightning]

The university will not love you back.

^^^
This. The email telling you "Thank you for all that you do" is about as sincere as "Welcome to Costco; I love you."

Have a sense of humor without being cynical.

Know the difference between having a sense of humor and being cynical. One is funny. The other will help you make better decisions, may advance your career, and might even save your a$$ one day.

[fishbrains]

The university will not love you back.

^^^
This. The email telling you "Thank you for all that you do" is about as sincere as "Welcome to Costco; I love you."

The same goes for the college being "One big family." To paraphrase Orwell, "Some family members are more family than others."

[Harlow2]

Don't get a #1 Draft Lottery notice.

I'm betting there's quite a story there!

[dismalist]

I wish I had gone straight through to graduate studies, and not worked between my degrees. Funding institutes don't seem to treat non-trades very nicely, especially when funding applications can only include items within the past five years. So anything you did earlier is discounted, even if you worked outside of academia during that period.

This reminds me of an occasion a tad more than fifty years ago. There I was, working in fast food during the summer, and weekends during the semester. It was a small family run business, with the two bosses working, one son, and a couple of others. It was soon recognized that I was not the median fast food worker. Anyway, I confessed that I was going to graduate school, after having been admitted and received an offer.

No, said the boss! Open another store, operate it for five years, we go 50/50 on the profits. Then you go to graduate school in style!

I did not take the man up on his offer, and I don't regret it. I loved and still  love my field. I wanted to get in quickly. And I had a high discount rate. :-)

To decide rationally, i.e in  a self-interested manner, think of how quickly you want to get into the field, and how much money postponing or not postponing brings, and is worth to you, including risk.

[pgher]

Career: Time is your enemy. To be successful, work NOW. Submit that grant now, not later. Submit that manuscript now, not later.

Related: learn to enjoy the process. Don't work for rewards and glory, but because you enjoy the work itself.

[clean]

Financial
Buy a used car, keep it well maintained and drive it until if costs more to fix than it is worth.  Save something (monthly & with summer school money - see above) to replace it when that day finally comes.

I consider the best financial decision i have made is to buy a high mileage, two year old car at the end of my graduate studies (because my other car would not longer be trusted to drive me the 100 miles to the airport to get to campus visits, and it was worth less than it would cost to fix).  That car had 42000 miles.  I kept it about 20 years and finally sold it when it would have needed more to repair than it was worth. 
Too many think that a car must be new to be reliable. It doesnt!  A well maintained car can be reliable for decades!
IF you keep a car for 21 years, instead of buying a new one every 7 (or fewer!) years, you have saved the cost of 2 cars!! 

[Sun_Worshiper]

The university will not love you back.

Absolutely.

Here's another one along the same lines: Don't marry the institution until the institution marries you. In other words, pre-tenure you should always be keeping an eye on the job market.

[clean]

Financial: (follow- up)  Do You REALLY need to buy a house pre-tenure?
Renting is NOT a Sin!  Selling a house is Expensive!  Not all houses increase in value!  Until you are tenured, your university can fire you with 1 year's notice (maybe less!).  Renting provides Mobility!!

All markets are different.  All situations are different.  What is not different is that until you have tenure, you may find that you need to move with little notice.   Unless you have no alternatives to renting (and there are few reasons to really own pre-tenure), dont buy!

My first job out of PhD school was at a small, liberal arts university in the South. It wasnt rural, but it wasnt 'big city living' either. There was a regional airport and good highways, but not a huge place. The university had lots of problems (the faculty senate had been disbanded, and AAUP had sanctioned the place.)    Rents for nice apartments in the town were cheaper than bad apartments in Grad School Town! Add to mention that after graduating I was broke!  So I lived like a graduate student for the next 3 years and paid off debt and saved, saved, saved. 
One day the dean asked me why the university would want to make a commitment to me when I had not made a commencement to even buy a house!  He said something about interest being deductible!  I explained that I would pay much more in interest than I could possibly save in taxes and I was paying off student loans. I outlined the tax deductability versus interest expense, taxes, insurance, repairs, etc.  (IF I pay the bank $10 in interest to save $2K in Taxes, how am I ahead?  Isnt it better to SAVE 10K in interest expense, even if you Pay an extra $2K in taxes?  Dont I have  $8Kmore in my pocket now?) Then I turned the question back on him and asked why HE was owning when renting here was so cheap? and AS the university had not made a commitment to me, why should I PAY for the privilege of working here? 
I was outspoken, even then.  But after I explained the numbers, he never brought it up again! 
I worked there for 5 years.  I had purchased a house 2 years before i moved away from a faculty member that had to sell quickly, so I got a good deal and made some money, even after selling costs 2 years later. 
But I do not regret renting!  Patience, and having money available to close the deal quickly allowed me to find a great deal! 

There are lots of 'reasons'/excuses you can use to justify buying.  But IF you dont have money, renting is a safer option!  You wont have to rent long term, and you can use the time to find a deal! 

Finally, you wont know much about the town on the first visit or 2.  It takes time to know what externalities exist in each neighborhood.  Give yourself time to know the town before jumping into the home buying decision! 

The university will not love you back.


Absolutely.

Here's another one along the same lines: Don't marry the institution until the institution marries you. In other words, pre-tenure you should always be keeping an eye on the job market.

[Diogenes]

Career:

Put a granola bar in your bag and forget about it. You'll remember it when the time is right.

Keep friendships with non-academics.

Find the hidden best bathroom. Every campus has one. Guard that secret with your life.

[dismalist]

Career:

Put a granola bar in your bag and forget about it. You'll remember it when the time is right.

Keep friendships with non-academics.

Find the hidden best bathroom. Every campus has one. Guard that secret with your life.

This last is advice for the ages. My big sister sussed out good bathrooms in New York City in the late '50s, early '60s, and she told me about them. The absolute best, confirmed by personal testing, was in an Alexander's department store, probably the one on 59th Street. Alas, Alexander's went down the tubes in 1992.

Some facts are more useful than others.

[lightning]

Career:

Put a granola bar in your bag and forget about it. You'll remember it when the time is right.

Keep friendships with non-academics.

Find the hidden best bathroom. Every campus has one. Guard that secret with your life.

Unless you have a dog who will rip your unprotected bag apart, in order to steal your forgotten granola bar.

[Ruralguy]

Lincoln Center in NYC has really good public bathrooms, but you have to be on the west side for it to be worth it.

[secundem_artem]

Yup - the uni will never love you back. Put your family ahead of everything else.

At times, they will pretend to ask your opinion on something.  Feel free to tell them your thoughts.  But realize that "we value your opinion" has 3 unspoken words at the end of that phrase - "when it's convenient."

Play the long game.  Deans, provosts and presidents come and go.  When possible, see if you can just out wait them.

[Wahoo Redux]

Yup - the uni will never love you back. Put your family ahead of everything else.

Explain academic hiring to your family too.  Most seem to think that finding a teaching job in higher ed is like a corporate job hunt.