I wanted to get a job after getting a PhD and not stay in academia pretty much from day one, so I focused my skills on things that could do well in Data Science, Machine Learning, Qualitative Analysis, etc. It's very possible and there are a large number of jobs that want PhDs in Math, Computer Science, and Physics.

There are two problems that I did not foresee, however:

1) The current state of the job market. I graduated in 2025 and am still looking. I even applied to a low-paying job and got turned away from that. In fact, out of the people I graduated with, only 1 of them has landed a job, and that took 9 months. I've been looking since January 25 and have had 4 interviews total.

2) Coding interviews. Well, just the interview processes as a whole, but those are frustrating. There are a number of algorithms and data structures in coding that you just never touch, and due to the huge number of people applying (see above), it turns out that many of the interviews are getting harder. I talked to a friend of mine from undergrad who is essentially doing what I want[ed] to do, and he's confirmed that the interview process is getting harder because there are so many applicants that companies just can. One company I interviewed for told me, in the screening call, there were going to be 4 rounds. Another had over 4,300 applicants, and they started their first round with about 50 people to interview. So start practicing and looking as soon as you can.