I guess it's quite different in the states. I'm mostly getting at the wide variety of situations students can be in. For example, someone who needs to work full-time while being a full time student (🙋‍♂️) is going to be in a very different situation than a full time student who doesn't have to work.

Even grades aren't completely objective. Students take ~15 credit hours each semester, and I was frequently told I should be working 3 hours each week per credit hour or ~45 hours/week. If anyone has other obligations (e.g. work, family, clubs, etc.) it can all take a toll on grades.

I was an extreme exception: no first author publications until a few months into my first postdoc. I had a few co-authorships, but my dissertation project took years to collect, process, and analyze data.

Why do I suspect this will be me in 7 years? 🙈

Also, this was made the old fashioned (non-AI) way with a bit of elbow grease and (too much) time spent making modifications in GIMP.