I know nothing about chess yet I dare say that I'd doubt this. Surely chess enthusiasts would be interested in analyzing how a superior chess program came out victorious, no?

There is a real, undeniable possibility of AI becoming better at mathematics in the same way that it became better at chess and Go, and in such a scenario, one may expect the community's response to be comparable.

Sometimes I wonder whether obsoluted not-so-flexible protocols like Gopher will make a comeback for Internet purists who are tired of the Web's increased complexity.

I like to think that I could get through interviews quite easily too; if applications start with a cognitive test I invariably make it through. My applications tend to die at the HR layer (which is usually the first stage) so I haven't actually made it to a real-life interview.

I agree that I may be making tactical errors. I've confined myself to job adverts through e.g. LinkedIn for the lack of knowing where else to look. I also lack the connections that most others at my stage of career have.

I know my way a bit around coding though I'm entirely self-taught so I have no degrees to back up that claim. I have considered throwing my projects on Github as a kind of 'proof of work' to employers.

Could you perhaps name some specific directions that would be suitable for someone with my background? People around me mentioned quantitative finance as an example of a direction for math PhDs to go into --- but I'd frankly be open to any job that lets me make use of my skills.

This includes jobs for newcomers that indeed pay just 30k --- and it's worth noting just how low that salary is in these days: 25k of that goes to taxes, rent, and paying off debt.

I'm turning towards finance instead as the entry barrier seems signifcantly lower.

It's common nowadays to blame it on say increase house prices, and while these are indeed very valid complaints, one shouldn't forget that these increased prices are offset by decreases in other areas. A century back, housing may have been cheap, but it was entirely normal for most of your income to be spent on food, spending whatever you could save on other necessities such as clothing. That did not stop people from working hard.