I spent five years in an engineering phd and finished with zero publication. Afterwards, I went into management consulting. Clients care about the degree and maybe the school, they don’t have the attention span to check out your publications.
After a few years of that, I went back into academia, but as an administrator who focuses on technology commercialization. I make significantly more money than academic scientists with glorious publications at my age in the same institution. I’m cofounding a company with two of said academics.
I rented an apartment from a similar era. I just ripped it off and installed a Nest. Asking for forgiveness is easier than asking for permission.