I haven't been happy in work for a long time now and, if I'm honest with myself, previous attempts at doing anything about it have been half-hearted at best. I kind of 'fell into' all of the roles I've had since my Australian work visa was approved 9.5yrs ago. When we first arrived here I wanted to import unique UK bike brands, but I lost the courage to get it going - I've been fumbling along ever since, all the while wishing I was doing something else but never knowing what that 'something else' was, or even what it could be.

I've recently been through a mental health episode (anxiety & depression) which is my second in the last 12yrs - both were, in part at least, fuelled by my job situation.

I want to take decisive action now and actually commit to making a change. It is likely I'll need to reskill, upskill or do something where my skills are transferrable; but I don't know what I want to do to know what to reskill/upskill/transfer into.

For reference, my education was creative-focused. Career-wise, I've always worked in the packaging arena in some capacity - originally as a Graphic Designer, then a Studio Manager (of sorts), then Operational Excellence, then Account Management/Client Service, then Consulting on packaging change & NPD, then a Packaging Change Manager... at which point I took a career break and managed a bike shop in London.

Since moving to Sydney I've only worked for 1 company. I spent way too long doing Account Management/Client Service roles again (because jobs fell into my lap) before moving into a Consulting role where Marketing Operations is my focus (process improvement, streamlining operations, optimising workflows, setting up ways of working with new clients, improving our own internal operations, project management, change management), all still related to packaging, mainly.

A key focus for the last 2yrs or so has been sustainability. Not the entire breadth of the topic for the most part, but focused on what we can offer as a company to our clients & prospects, plus how we rank as a company in terms of what we actually do ourselves (and what we could do better). Again, packaging-focused, so mainly Environmental Sustainability (recycling, recyclability, pack optimisation, CO2 footprint reduction etc.).

I occasionally enjoy my current role, but I'd say that's about 30% of the time. I enjoy the sustainability work, but I only really got into that because I saw it as a possible career solution from here onwards - I'm no longer convinced that is a solution in itself; but I would be perfectly happy if it continued to be a part of whatever I do moving forwards.

Perhaps my biggest challenge and the reason I haven't made a change yet is the dichotomy of feeling part of something, being in a company that I like and enjoy being a part of, being known and respected within that company (a global company of 6,000 employees and yet the CEO knows me by name) and being a trusted go-to SME; yet not being paid particularly well for it (I'm doing ok, don't get me wrong, but my salary is about 60% short of the 'going rate' for my role).

I'm not good with numbers or spreadsheets, but I can muddle through if I need to. I don't like project management or change management (despite having done a lot of both), but I can do a reasonable job of them if I have to. I'm not LeanSigma/SixSigma or Agile trained, but I understand both methodologies. I like the variation that consulting brings. I like the sustainability stuff. I like being able to use an Apple Mac. I like bikes...!

My wife has suggested I'd be a good Business Analyst, which I like the sound of - it fits my transferable skills quite well and I could probably upskill on the job. Beyond that idea, though, I'm clueless.

My dream job would probably be bike painting, but I don't have any capital to set something up and I'm not good at being my own boss - plus I'm not keen on the idea of working all day every day with paint dust and chemicals. Judging by how busy bike shop workshops are here I could probably do reasonably well running a small workshop out of my home garage, but I'm not brave enough to try (and I'm bad at being my own boss).

This is part a cry for help, part seeking advice, part using the VSalon crowd as a potential opportunity to network... but if anyone has any advice I'm all ears. And thanks in advance, as ever!