u/Minute-Celery5941

Hey everyone,
I got my BS and MS in Food Science, with a background focused mostly on microbiology and food safety. I didn't love that area, and I thought I’d enjoy R&D much more because I find the concept of added value and understanding how every single ingredient plays a specific role super interesting. At least, that's what I told myself, I think I might have romanticized it a bit.

Now, I'm working in an R&D role at an ingredient company. We don't make final consumer products, but we assist customers with various applications. The issue is that I’m the \*only\* person in R&D. Everyone here is super nice and nobody is pushing me beyond reasonable expectations, but... I honestly have no idea where to start learning.
Right now, my job is basically organizing the department (if you can even call it that, since there’s zero structure in place) and then waiting for projects to come in, or creating them from scratch (keep in mind, the company operates like a small startup).

\*\*Where should I start building my knowledge?\*\* I read research papers, but I find myself jumping randomly from one topic to another. My main interests lie in:
Baking science
Gluten-free formulation
Fiber enrichment
Protein addition
Texture, structure, and shelf-life stability
Pregelatinized flours, etc.
I know that’s a super broad list, but I need to start somewhere.

Like even tv shows or YouTube channel anything about ingredient functionality

I don’t have any superior or someone from whom to learn where I work and I don’t leave because I have things to pay and job market is not good, plus I feel like I like R&D and need to get more experience or knowledge before switching jobs (as I applied to many R&D jobs before landing here and all of them required experience which I did not had :,))

How bad is the job market out there right now? I know it's generally bad, especially for international students, but howbad is it really?

I got my first job right after graduating with my master's (I'm international in the US) at a small company, almost a startup, although they've been in the food industry for many years.

There are only a few of us and everyone wears different hats. My role didn't even exist before, they created it for me. There's no defined structure, but honestly that's the case for other roles here too.

The difference is that everyone else seems to have plenty to do all day. I'm constantly trying to find ways to keep myself busy, but I can't shake the feeling that my role isn't really contributing anything and that's so frustrating.

I've tried talking to my supervisors and they just tell me I have the freedom to do whatever I want, which is kind of weird for a job. But I appreciate their trust let’s say that, it’s not like I am sitting the whole day I do have my little daily tasks is just that maybe I got use to grad school rhythms? And I feel weird not being busy 24/7?

I don't know if being far from my friends is making me think I should look for another job where I have mentors and actually learn, or if I should just be realistic about how bad the job market is, be grateful I have a job, and try to make something out of my role.

It's complicated because I do see here the possibility of H-1B sponsorship, so I don't know if I should risk it. Am I just too comfortable? Or should I just stay busy and be grateful I have a paycheck?