u/Few-Donkey-6412

Hi everyone. I recently happened upon a job posting for a role in Australia by pure chance. Normally, I wouldn't even look that far away from Europe since I'm a Greek national but I thought I'd reach out to you for an opinion after lurking in the subreddit for a bit.

For context, I'm 30M with a PhD in Metallurgy and a MEng in Mining & Metallurgical Engineering. I have about 4 years of work experience in various domains of Metallurgy from recycling (extractive) all the way to end-product manufacturing + my mining background ain't too shabby either. I alsdid my PhD in the UK and Germany so I've lived in both countries for a while before coming back to Greece in 2023 for military service.

So, on paper, from a professional aspect I check a lot of boxes and I should be able to qualify for a skilled visa. However, my true concern lies in the living conditions. I've seen there might be a lot of racism, particularly in Queensland where I'm looking at and the lifestyle can be quite isolating. I'm not a party animal myself and I appreciate the solace but not being able to socialise at all would be a deal-breaker for me entirely.

I have a few connections in the country already but I don't want to "excite" them just yet with the prospect of me coming over since I'd like to make sure it's even an option worth exploring to begin with.

DISCLAIMER: Used AI to make it shorter and more concise.

TLDR: PhD metallurgical engineer working in a small company with good pay and stability, but limited scale and growth. Previously worked on higher-impact projects in larger environments but left due to politics and poor management. Now feels stuck: comfortable but not learning much or making meaningful impact (a 20–30% cost reduction translates to ~€300k). Considering moving abroad for bigger opportunities, but unsure if this is real misalignment or just burnout/romanticizing change.

_____________________________________

I'll start by giving you some background information, I’m 31 with a M.Eng and PhD in Metallurgical Engineering from a top 100 Uni in the UK. I came back to Greece to do my military serfice and have a go at establishing myself in the country. Over the past few years I’ve worked across R&D, consulting, freelancing, and industry. A pattern I’ve noticed is that I tend to leave roles when either autonomy or growth is limited.

In one R&D role, I left because of heavy micromanagement. In another, I was performing well but was kept away from more hands-on and visible work, while being pushed into isolated technical tasks. It felt like I was being deliberately limited rather than developed. Freelancing was actually enjoyable and gave me a lot of freedom, but the market here is too small to make it sustainable.

My last major role was in a large industrial company, where I worked on developing a recycling plant. This was probably the closest I’ve come to doing something with real scale and impact. We put together a strong technical and financial case, and the project had clear potential to generate significant value. But despite that, it got blocked.

What I saw there was a mix of internal politics and misaligned incentives. The company leadership didn’t want to commit their own capital and instead tried to push for external funding that didn’t really make sense for a profitable project. At the same time, I saw people who were actually driving the work (including my direct supervisor) being sidelined or replaced, even though the results were objectively good. It became clear that decisions weren’t really based on performance or logic. There were also issues around compensation and expectations (especially with travel), and overall it felt like the kind of place where you could do everything right and still get nowhere. That’s why I left, even though the work itself was meaningful. I had an offer for an amazing role in the UK but, on the same week, my grandma went into emergency care and I just couldn't leave so I had to turn it down...

I’m now in a much smaller company (a previous client of mine). The environment is good, the pay is solid, and my personal life is stable. On paper, everything looks right. The work itself isn’t trivial either. I can drive meaningful improvements, like reducing costs by 20–30%, however the issue is that 20–30% in this context translates to something like €300k, so even when the work is good, the overall scale is just limited.

I’ve taken ownership of materials, quality, and external collaborations, and I’ve introduced new ideas and technologies. That part is going well, but I’m essentially the only one bringing that knowledge in, so I’m not really learning from others in my field.

At the same time, the core of the business isn’t where my main interest lies. The role is centered more around machining and manufacturing, while my background is in materials. I’ve learned the machining side, even hands-on in order to understand how to actually develop/improve the processes, but it’s not what I want to focus on long term. I can contribute and I have autonomy, but it feels like I’m getting closer to a ceiling in both impact and growth.

That’s where the issue comes in. In previous roles, even when conditions weren’t great, I felt a strong sense of impact and growth, and that made me satisfied. Now it’s the opposite: everything is comfortable, but I feel like I’m just going through the motions.

I’ve been thinking about moving abroad or into a larger environment where I can work on bigger problems, learn from stronger teams, and have more impact. At the same time, I’m aware I might be romanticizing that option given my past experiences.

I have my right to work in the UK and due to my EU citizenship I do have a lot of regional options. I've even started considering Australia or Canada where my work is quite hot currently. But I've yet to actively start applying cause I've not really made up my mind yet. Last time I got a major offer from abroad it caused a lot of trouble for me and my loved ones because the "idea" of going back abroad excited me but my mind was not there at all. And so I just stirred everyone up instead for nothing.

I’m trying to figure out whether this is just burnout, or a sign that I’ve outgrown my current environment. Unfortunately, practically my entire social circle is in Greece so from a personal standpoint there's a lot to lose. However, during my time in the UK, where I had career-driven purpose, while I did miss my people I still felt my time there was purposeful and ended up enjoying it. So, you could say that career > personal life in my case...

Has anyone been in a similar position? How do you decide between staying somewhere stable vs moving for growth and impact?

Hi everyone. I've hit a rough patch lately and I'd really appreciate an assist.

Back when I was living in the UK I'd setup a very solid routine. I'd wake up at 4.30 am, be at the gym by 5, training until 7, then back home by 7.30, showered, fed and prepped to leave by 8.30 and at work by 9. This routine enabled me to dodge the afternoon madness, have the entire gym to myself and basically get one of the harder parts of my day done first (I tend to give it my all when I train so my RPEs consistently hit 8-9).

However, ever since I returned to my home country I made a horrifying realization. There are no 24/7 gyms. I also start work at 8 which, although my commute is about 12 mins, does not help too much. In my neighborhood, things are even worse as most gyms in my area open at 7 (mine opens at 7.30) and the only one that opens at 6 is machine-based and not free-weights based. Btw, if you have any ideas on how to perform a good powerlifting-type workout on machines exclusively PLEASE tell me.

As such I started training afternoons and holy s*** I just can't do it. By the time I finish work I'm practically dead. I can't use caffeine cause it keeps me up all night so I literally have to work through it. Queues are insane unless I go at 8pm+ but then, by the time I finish my training, my body just can't cool down, resulting in terrible sleep quality. The only days when I manage to train well are Sat/Sun where I can actually go in the morning but weekdays I have ended up skipping all the time. I have tried going and slacking through the entire thing just to say "I did it" but I feel terrible afterwards. No endorphins, no nothing, just feels like a massive waste of time and an inconvenience.

FYI, I have tried Mg supplementation, GABA, even Melatonin, I even bought a new bed, mattress and pillow. Still, every time I exercise late or drink caffeine after 5-6 pm, my sleep is bad. In the past, I'd associated pre-workout intake with me going to the gym so I'd actually conditioned my brain to think pre-workout=must go to the gym. This pushed me in on days where I felt like skipping and it worked 100% of the time. Obviously, this isn't available to me anymore.

So I skip it.

Unfortunately, my morning routine was keeping my binges in check as well and now that this is gone and with me skipping my sessions I've started binging heavily again. Training 2x per week can obviously offset none of that so I'm just getting progressively worse in terms of my health. To give you an idea, my weight's up 20% and I can guarantee you that isn't muscle mass.

This has been going on for a while now and I've reached this point where I just want to figure it out and make it work.

So to all you afternoon people. How do you do it?