I will commit CS heresy and call Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs overrated. The major ideas I recall learning from SICP were tail recursion, static vs. dynamic scope, functions as data, and what people mean by "closure". Those are somewhat important ideas in computer science, but not, I would say, among the 20 most important ideas is computer science.
Sounds like you approached SICP once it was already beneath your level. The main thing to take away from SICP is that programming is the construction of processes - hierarchical descriptions of what the computer is tasked to do, with no detail left out. This and the implications of it were probably already obvious to you by the time you approached the book.
In my experience, most comp sci or programming textbooks are like grammar, vocab, and style guide to language, whereas SICP delves into the very nature of language itself, it's purpose, what we use it for, and overviews of why and how we study it. You can drill the grammar and vocab later.
I'm a theoretical physics (quantum computing) grad student. I really like what I do, and would like to continue doing it for a long time.
But I'm aware that the job market in academia for freshly minted physics PhDs is not spectacular. For personal reasons, I may not be able to go through the post-doc treadmill and I might want to make good money. Thus: programming & finance. I currently lean towards programming.
I thought LW is a good place to ask for advice related to this.
Current skills: Good at math, definitely not "gifted". I know C++, and some Python; neither inside out. I don't know specific techniques to design good algorithms for problems. For example, I tried my hand a few times at programming contests (including those at small scales) and got my ass handed to me. I've only taken basic college courses in programming.
I'm not very aware of the skills tested in quant interviews. I'm sure googling and talking to a few people will fix this, but please feel free to add your thoughts.
I have about a couple of years left till I graduate, so I can do this properly: What is the best way to make sure that when I graduate I can easily take a job in software or finance after the PhD? Looking for the most bang-for-the-buck (the buck here being time and money) way to do this.
Also, I may have blinders on. Are there other well-paying jobs out there for physics PhDs? I'm not an American citizen, so many of the government/government-funded lab jobs are out of the question.
Thanks in advance.
Some resources I've identified:
1. USACO training gateway.
2. SICP. (How much is it worth going through this?)
3. Cracking the Coding Interview.