I just finished a PhD in stats, and before that, studied computer science. I had planned to go back to industry to do software engineering or be a data scientist afterwards.
However, it seems that in the meantime, vibe coding has taken over the software industry and swallowed most data scientist roles. Few open positions, and the ones that do exist are just pushing a button instead of thinking and solving problems. Is this a correct assessment? Should I try to get back in or just find a new career? I am not too keen on staying in academia either.
Most people I know that were heavy into corporate software coding, have ‘pivoted’ to their next big hustle “that could be ANYTHING!”. This is the bargaining phase right before depression and acceptance. Their entire career has been gutted from below them and now desperation is setting in.