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Academia
If you plan to stay in academia, the next step after your PhD is a postdoctoral fellowship. Many postdocs are funded through a research grant to a professor. Begin your search for a postdoc a year or so before you anticipate graduating. Keep an eye out for potential collaborators/advisors at meetings and approach potential advisors that you are interested in working with. Set up meetings with potential advisors at conferences or email them. Some may have money and be looking for postdocs (this is the ideal situation), or they might be willing to write a grant with you or find money in other ways. There are also postdoctoral fellowships that are awarded to individuals through an application process. These positions are highly competitive, but they offer the flexibility to do your own research and possibly teach. Proposals for NSF and NIH postdocs are due in the early fall, as are many of the other competitive postdoc applications (Darwin Fellow-type positions).