These were all wonderful insights, especially the part about finding community. That was one of my biggest struggles through my PhD and was the impetus for starting Cohort Sistas, to provide a digital community of support and mentorship for Black women pursuing doctoral degrees. There's also so much to be done in terms of equipping and encouraging doctoral students to pursue non-academic degrees. Many faculty are not only clueless about non-ac jobs but unwilling to get up to speed about the realities of the job market and the disparate motivations for students pursuing doctoral studies.