What are possible next steps after the completion of a less-than-stellar PhD?
You are putting up your own roadblocks. Your GPA isn't material if you have a doctorate. The quality of your dissertation might be. The recommendations from your advisor and others might be.
But you should at least apply to a few external places, perhaps both for post docs and for regular positions. If you go to industry it might be hard to return to academia if that is your goal.
But, in the US, at least there are a lot of institutions whose faculty doesn't focus primarily on research. If you can teach and inspire undergraduates then you can probably find a position if you try hard enough.
The conditions and requirements in your &quot;own place&quot; can't be judged here. And much depends on the economy at the time. And now, the pandemic also.
But don't give up before you start.