If you type the words 'survival guide' into any Internet search engine you will find that among many web pages dedicated to surviving the wilderness or various travel destinations, pages about making it through graduate school occur perhaps all too frequently.

Survival guides on a given topic exist because people have attempted to 'survive' the associated challenge — and have overcome significant obstacles during their quest. Based on the number of web pages dedicated to surviving graduate school, finishing a PhD is no walk in the park.

Much like climbing a mountain peak, completing a PhD will always be strenuous but, depending on the weather, the difficulty in reaching the summit will vary. Before you set out, you should check the weather forecast and make sure that your guide knows the mountain — or you may suddenly find yourself on a slippery slope. You should also make sure that you get along with your guide and that the two of you understand each other. If not, it is likely to be a very long climb to the summit — or you might not reach it at all.

With graduation in sight, it is probably no coincidence that my adviser, who is a mountaineer, has invited me to join him on an expedition to climb the world's highest active volcano the month before my dissertation defence.