As: Some advisors are accessible, sympathetic, and helpful; others will perceive weakness in requests for advice and assistance.  Anatomy of a Research Report is a good section-by-section guide to the dissertation.  Search for a quiet place to work and relax.  Many friends, family, and sports or other groups will gladly provide care in this last push.

As: University salary levels are usually preset, but if the issue is urgent and must be raised there’s no reason not to inquire politely  (vs. demanding).  Fellowships and prizes can make up a shortfall, but be aware many dictate stringent totals that can complicate salaried compensation.

As: Pragmatically speaking, all persons can learn ways of dressing that spotlight strong points and conceal weak ones.  An excellent department store and/or personal shopper can advise you to this effect, if you wish.  Beyond that, and far more importantly, health and your positive state of mind come first and foremost.  Maintain a strong focus on rewarding interpersonal relationships and job satisfaction.  Appreciate your work, family, and friends; encourage student growth; enjoy community and service activities; and associate more with happy, well fed, kind, and compassionate colleagues than hungry, hair-trigger, belligerent ones.

As: Fully, because knowing as much as possible is a prerequisite to an informed choice.  Should this honest account prove daunting or discouraging, there are alternatives to academic careers: start-ups; industry; teaching at various levels; patent agent or attorney; funding agency program officer; outreach and exhibit design at museums, science centers, zoos, and aquariums; communications, e.g., journal editor, science writer, columnist, public relations, and/or media presenter; public policy advisor; and program/institute administrator, to name only some.

As: If dividing family and home management between the two of you isn’t working out, you need a helper or helpers. Keep in mind that on your deathbed you’re unlikely to cry out, “Oh, why did I not write another review of the research?” Rather, you’ll want your family rallied around you. Make time for them. Love and enjoy them.

As: We grieve for the student and you. Following such a shocking event, both of you must seek informed counsel. Offer support to your group too. Many of them will soon supervise junior coworkers, if not already doing so. Through this experience, they may learn to recognize signs of fracture in their supervisees and themselves. Compile helping techniques as a group. Somehow this serious concern seems less cripplingly scary as an exercise.