ITT: hard life lessons you've learned while being in STEM major/career

ITT: hard life lessons you've learned while being in STEM major/career.

I'll start.
You play a very small part and that if you ever want to appear as a leader of a massive operation you've got to be good at casting illusions of how smart you are.

For those of us who don't have a lot of free time, you have to play a small part or drive yourself crazy trying to learn 2 or more domains of STEM.

Being in STEM is "nerdy" unless you're a leader, in which case, you're not really into STEM, you're just a manipulator with surface level knowledge

People are stupid with or without degree
Social contacts are more important for having a good life than any knowledge you have in your head
People will always find a way to get you back for knowing shit more than them

If you didn't push yourself into a more applied project/field, you have no room to bitch about how there are no jobs. Seriously, people come into grad school doing what interests them the most expecting to get a huge salary when they leave. That's literally rolling the dice with your future success, with a very high chance of a bad outcome.

It pays not to have social skills in the sciences. Professors at big name universities are not squirrelly autists who avoid contact. They are interested in and respect people who can carry a conversation. Many professors assess how you mesh socially with the people in their lab when you first enter grad school as well. Some will flat out suggest you leave because they want a smooth work environment.

Imposter syndrome is a real thing that a lot of people have.

In order of importance in choosing a lab for grad school:

1) join a project you like + will teach you skills to get you a good job
2) move far away from home when you go to grad school. Go on an adventure! It's really scary at first, but I promise it's fun.
3) join a friendly group / friendly professor.

Number 3 kind of goes with number 2. If you don't get some connections in this new place you are going to start getting lonely which is a very odd and sad feeling if you've never felt it before. Additionally, your lab is your support network. They will sometimes be the reason you are happy to come in and get working. The PI is more important than you know. They have power; make friends with them. They can literally influence your committee to keep you in grad school rather than fail you if necessary. It's also important they aren't an asshole. I just recently heard of a 5th year grad student (he's passed all qualifiers, he's going to be a PhD if he just defends his thesis) who flat out quit because he doesn't get along with his PI. You have enough mental stresses, don't let your boss be another one.

The mitochondrion powers the cell

More grad school advice:

Grad school isn't a sprint, it's a marathon.

Try to be friends with everyone, then cut out the bad influences.

Don't worry about entrance exams if you have them in your program. They're waaaay easier than I thought they would be and they don't even matter in the long run. Very successful grad students have failed all of them.

I'm telling you to make a bunch of friends, and be open, but always try to be the knowledgable guy in lab before being the social guy. People will respect you more.

If you're lab does a group trip somewhere early on in your entrance, go with them. This is where they will be assessing you on a personal level to see if they like you. It's not a meme that these trips are good for team-building. They legit are.

If you are doing a lab rotation, don't even think about joining a lab that you know you wouldn't join. It's very dangerous to make friends and have a desire to stay in a lab that will not be good for your career in the long run. Don't do it.

A lot, if not most, academics are complete assholes.

Most academics are overgrown children

>Never listen to undergrads' opinions on how to be 'employable' (obvious)
>Never listen to professors' opinions on how to be 'employable'
If you want advice on how to get a job in a certain field, you have to ask someone who hires in that field. Nobody else knows what they're talking about, but they sure as hell will pretend like they do.

if one of your professors says he can "get you into a grad program" at your current undergrad institution... don't do it. its a fucking scam. professors are salesmen for the school.

>mfw all it takes for a lazy ass like OP to believe his own bullshit is to surprise himself with the rare occasion when he musters the energy to put his retarded simple as fuck thoughts in a post on Veeky Forums

This is applicable to far more than just STEM, and people say it regularly, but it's still incredibly important:
>Connections are every bit as important as skills/experience
You must must must must must build a network before you graduate. I know it sucks, but the job market is inherently nepotistic. I forget the exact statistic, but the majority of jobs are not even publicly advertised. There are so many jobs you won't even know about unless you have connections in the industry.
This isn't to say you don't need skills or experience; just that they are not sufficient in themselves. A recommendation from someone in the company you're applying to (or even from someone with connections to someone in the company) is better than anything you can put on your resume.