Depending on your runway and goals you have a few options. 1. Take whatever you can get that’s closest to where you want to be. I worked as a sysadmin in a lar

Depending on your runway and goals you have a few options. 1. Take whatever you can get that’s closest to where you want to be. I worked as a sysadmin in a large financial firm as they were close to Linux distributed systems during the Great Recession. I’d advise sticking to something with a swe title, but taking a job as MLE for a year - or SWE - instead of a research position isn’t a bad strategy. 2. If you have lots of runway, start your own business! If it pans out, then you’ll be better off than your dream job. If it isn’t successful, you will have something to talk about in a year. 3. Stick to academia/research for a year. If you can hold off your graduation for a year, the market may be more favorable. Bear markets tend to be short. 4. Hike the AT/PCT/other bucket list activity. It can burn up the better part of a year, and will explain a resume gap well. Be mindful that employers will be concerned if they see an unexplained resume gap/and may not care about your fitness.