I am a bit surprised that this article talks so much about actual PhD stuff than high level guidance. Maybe it has to do with the author's personal background/experience or field.
Something I didn't see in the article:
Depending on your field, it can be extremely hard to get tenure. Unless you are a genius and are seeing signs you are well on your way to getting professorship and tenure (publishing good and important papers, really good at communication, checking all the other boxes), you'd better consider an off-ramp as early as possible.
In some fields, 100 people compete for 1 open positions, and that's rough. Having been involved in such a hiring process, I know it's extremely challenging.
I was smart enough to realize I'd never be a good researcher relatively early during my PhD and started preparing for job interviews. Sadly, I see too many people still having unrealistic dreams about being a professor late in their PhD. They even do postdoc and do that for many years until they finally discover they are not hireable. Good news is that they often find an industry job quickly after switching.
I could see that clearly -- their research, originality, communication and understanding of the field is just not there, and one doesn't become a professor without being completely in control of the direction of their academic research.
But it's hard to tell people "you are just not good enough for this". In most situations, you'd be considered unsupportive. However, in this case, it's the best thing you can say to a struggling PhD/postdoc.
(Many professors are completely incapable of advising on students' career. They often find it surprising that a student wants to go into industry. They hold completely incorrect assumptions like a PhD student just goes into a management role as soon as they graduate. Rarely a professor tells you that you should not pursue tenure.)
* Much of that was direct feedback from my advisor -- that I did't understand my research subject thoroughly, I could not explain or describe things very clearly, and even someone outside the field could ask a question which I have trouble responding.
* I had difficulty coming up with my own ideas. A good PhD student should develop a good sense of direction halfway through their research PhD, and by the end they should be able to conduct their own research independently. I was nothing like that.
* I attended talks from fellow students that were invited to the department and went to conferences. I know what good researchers are like -- they do good work, publish papers relatively early in their PhD, know everything about the field and what are they doing, have confidence, communicate with others well and have great delivery in presentation.
-- * This might be the one that is most compelling. You could tell who is going to be a professor and who is not. (As I am typing this, I look up the guy I have in mind. He just got assistant professorship last year. I am not all surprised.)
Granted, I am far from a model PhD student. My research is mediocre. But I have seen people who deliver even worse research and have even less chance of ever getting tenure spending more time in academia. So I hope my words can be helpful.
All that said, I would say you don't need to self doubt. If you are smart and constantly think about your career, and if you go to conferences, you'll know whether this is for you and what to do.
Something I didn't see in the article:
Depending on your field, it can be extremely hard to get tenure. Unless you are a genius and are seeing signs you are well on your way to getting professorship and tenure (publishing good and important papers, really good at communication, checking all the other boxes), you'd better consider an off-ramp as early as possible.
In some fields, 100 people compete for 1 open positions, and that's rough. Having been involved in such a hiring process, I know it's extremely challenging.
I was smart enough to realize I'd never be a good researcher relatively early during my PhD and started preparing for job interviews. Sadly, I see too many people still having unrealistic dreams about being a professor late in their PhD. They even do postdoc and do that for many years until they finally discover they are not hireable. Good news is that they often find an industry job quickly after switching.
I could see that clearly -- their research, originality, communication and understanding of the field is just not there, and one doesn't become a professor without being completely in control of the direction of their academic research.
But it's hard to tell people "you are just not good enough for this". In most situations, you'd be considered unsupportive. However, in this case, it's the best thing you can say to a struggling PhD/postdoc.
(Many professors are completely incapable of advising on students' career. They often find it surprising that a student wants to go into industry. They hold completely incorrect assumptions like a PhD student just goes into a management role as soon as they graduate. Rarely a professor tells you that you should not pursue tenure.)