A PhD means you can do novel research. As a full stack developer what novel subject(s) did you explore? That is the middle you are missing.
A big part of the problem is that you were spending time with tech stacks and frameworks. These have almost no practical utility value aside from attaining employment in a low skill area of software. I am saying that as a former 15 year JavaScript developer. Instead use your research background to solve real problems faced by businesses and users that you can measure.
A PhD means you can do novel research. As a full stack developer what novel subject(s) did you explore? That is the middle you are missing.
A big part of the problem is that you were spending time with tech stacks and frameworks. These have almost no practical utility value aside from attaining employment in a low skill area of software. I am saying that as a former 15 year JavaScript developer. Instead use your research background to solve real problems faced by businesses and users that you can measure.
I feel like my scientific training is going to waste
Your training is a sunk cost.
It is also the source of soft skills.