I personally have given up and turned mercenary. Even if you're passionate about statistics, machine learning, or any ds related discipline don't think of work

I personally have given up and turned mercenary. Even if you're passionate about statistics, machine learning, or any ds related discipline don't think of work as being a bigger part of your identity than the average star bucks barista does. Find a team/company that pays you well and isn't too opinionated, with low ego (if possible). Don't look for challenging work, the few places it exists already have the people they need, whereas the companies that pretend they have challenging problems tend to be insufferable. Look for a team where you can check-in and check-out without too much stress and get paid well.