Finished an astrophysics PhD (observational studies of massive star formation in the Galaxy) and switched to a Data Engineering job half a year ago. Post-PhDs b

Finished an astrophysics PhD (observational studies of massive star formation in the Galaxy) and switched to a Data Engineering job half a year ago. Post-PhDs becoming data scientists is still a big thing, as career options are very limited. The field was really interesting, but building a carrier in it is a pure lottery - hard work and talent alone won't cut it, you need connections, politics, and salesmanship skills to get a permanent job. On top of that, there were probably only three job openings a year (in the whole world!) that I was a good fit for. Money factor did not come into play at all - junior dev salary is often lower than the postdoc one.