From undergrad to professor at a top tier university: how should I do it?

[twofish-quant]

It's funny, because people here are talking like I don't know what it takes.

Because you don't.

I don't think you realize how painful and agonizing the process is, and what a gut-wrenching experience it will be. Right now, you don't realize how cruel and nasty things can be and will be in academia.

But that's fine. I don't expect you to accept anything that I'm saying right now. You'll figure it out for yourself, but I can plant a seed in the back of your mind, that will be useful at some point in the future.

 

[twofish-quant]

Remember that even the venerable Einstein was once a lowly patent clerk. Everyone starts somewhere.

What's amusing is that Einstein did all of his best work while he was a patent clerk. Once he became a famous professor, he was never able to do useful research. Personally, I think that becoming a professor was something of a demotion for him.