[33 M] I have degrees from three different countries, PhD (UK), MS (The Netherlands) and UG (India). All in the field of Mechanical Engineering. My PhD and master's were in the field of combustion modelling. My PhD did not go as expected (I do not even have a paper yet), but I did manage to graduate. When I graduated with my PhD, I was under-skilled/lacked core skills compared to other PhD candidates in my field. This severely affected my career prospects. On top of it, due to the latest trends in the market, combustion as a field is already dying. But after a huge struggle, I managed to land my dream job as a scientific software engineer in the UK. I enjoyed the role very much. I was gaining physics modelling skills and software development skills at a good pace. Finally, I thought I was learning skills that could open new doors and add real value to my CV. But then, I was made redundant in my 10th month and I lost my job.

After that, I landed in a job as a product development engineer at a scientific software development company (a very small company with about 15 employees). In the new role, I am not doing any real product development activities nor learning product management tools/methods/techniques. The role itself is not well defined. My activities here do not demand any leadership skills or management skills. Even though I am a product developer, I am not making any product development decisions or strategies. Simply there are no opportunities for that. The company has just one client and I am doing random tasks requested by the clients (mostly user guide documentation and testing). I am not even learning anything technical. I feel like I am not really gaining any skills in my current role except for people skills (yes, I should agree that somehow my people skills have improved in this company). I have already decided to move to a job but just waiting to get 1 year of experience here. Otherwise, I would have too many jumps in my CV within the first 18 months of my career. So, I will start looking for a new job from next April onwards.

As you see, I have some bits and pieces of experience without any coherence. I am already 33 and I am still struggling to achieve job security while my peers are already in senior roles. Even after a PhD, I am still not an expert in a field.

To summarize, I have a not-so-good PhD, a good 10-month experience as a scientific software engineer, a not-so-good product development engineer experience and a 2-year career break (1 after my master's and 1 after my PhD). Altogether, I have 18 months of industry experience in the UK. I am not ranting, I just said the facts to show the real state of my situation. I have accepted my situation and I know that cannot do anything about the past. Given this situation, how can I move forward and build a successful career? What are the skills I can learn or develop to build my CV? What are the possible career opportunities available in front of me? Any tips/suggestions are highly appreciated.

Thanks!