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December 30, 2025 Score: 6 Rep: 176 Quality: Expert Completeness: 70%

It may well be that you are doing nothing explicitly "wrong", but that the market has changed. Take a look at this chart of US scientific R&D (as well as software-related) job postings on Indeed tracked by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis:

US job postings on Indeed for science-adjacent roles

Effectively, the technical job posting rate is far below its peak of the past 5 years, is at roughly 70% of its pre-pandemic levels, and is comparable to the rate seen during the pandemic shutdowns. For the jobs openings that do exist, the competition will be fierce.

It's difficult to say what exactly may be causing this, but I speculate that it is some combination of economic policies/interest rates and companies investing in emerging technologies (i.e., AI) rather than human capital. Regardless, this is the hand that you and others have been dealt, and it may persist for some time.

The way I see it, you have a few options:

  1. Out-compete the other applicants by upskilling (e.g., gain experience through an unpaid internship in your desired field, practice interview skills, grind Leetcode if you are aiming for software roles, etc.)
  2. Wait it out by picking up temporary, unrelated work (this is what you seem to be doing, though there are no guarantees on how long it might take for the job market to recover)
  3. Get creative and try to "increase your surface area for luck". This could mean cold emailing hiring managers, attending industry meetup groups in your area, making and sharing a personal website with your portfolio, etc.

None of these options are fantastic, and which is best for you will depend on your personal and financial circumstances. For what its worth, I know several other Physics PhDs who are in the same position.

December 30, 2025 Score: 7 Rep: 140,061 Quality: High Completeness: 70%

Some thoughts to consider

  1. I would split the search strategy into two different paths: academic and industry. Most of what a write here is relevant to industry jobs (my academic experience is too dated by now). Try https://academia.stackexchange.com/ for the other path.
  2. Most industry interviewers will consider you a "Master plus 3-5 years of experience" (or whatever time it took) and you will be compete with candidates from that bucket.
  3. So your Ph.D. will be viewed as "job experience". If it's relevant to the job, it can help you, if it's not, than it gets in the way. This is no different from any other job candidate.
  4. And yes, there is overqualified and underqualified. If I want a a fresher, I will prefer a fresher over someone with 4 years of irrelevant experience. It's just a better fit for both parties.

Strategy suggestions

  1. Stop scatter shooting. It doesn't work. Focus on quality over quantity
  2. Figure out areas, companies or job where your Ph.D. may be relevant. It doesn't have to be the exact same topic. But something where methods, tools, foundational theory, independent research, lab experience, etc. are potentially applicable. I assume your chose your Ph.D. topic for a specific reason and you want to do something with it. Try to find a match.
  3. If you find an opportunity carefully craft your resume and cover letter. Cover all requirements honestly. Build a bridge between your Ph.D. and the job needs.
  4. Make sure you interview well. I've interviewed a fair number of Ph.D. and post docs and a depressingly large number torpedoed themselves within the first 10 minutes. One candidate was outraged and complained bitterly that we asked them some basic technical questions that were not directly related to their thesis. I'm genuinely baffled by the fact that universities that charge 100 of 1000s of dollars don't teach the first thing about writing a resume, how the hiring process works and what good interview practices are.

Good luck

December 30, 2025 Score: 1 Rep: 15,111 Quality: Low Completeness: 10%

Even with a PhD, you're still a new graduate. Which means you are unlikely to get a senior role. Those require several years of experience.

Try to find companies that take on new graduates and have a training programme.

December 30, 2025 Score: 0 Rep: 33,006 Quality: Low Completeness: 40%

If it is not illegal in your (geographical / administrative) area of interest, just try removing the PhD from your resume, and keep searching.

Of course, you will kind-of have to skip the companies which already have your CV with the PhD information included.

As already mentioned in the comments, it is quite likely that you have landed on the realm of overqualification.

@Hilmar reminded me in a comment: Writing false information in the CV is VERY wrong! Never do that. However, omitting some information is permissible - this is exactly how CV are being customized to fit different jobs. If an achievement is not a requirement for a job, you need not write it.