Hello fellow FIRE folks, and a thank you in advance for your no-doubt insightful and useful suggestions.
I currently live in California and manage a small quality control lab at a winery (after getting a degree in winemaking from UC Davis). I've been in this position for over twelve years and am looking to change. Ideally I would be able to move into a similar sort of position elsewhere, but I have some wrinkles that are causing me to look to you for help. I would love to stay in the wine industry (I have expertise, it is fun) and know that I can likely get a similar sort of job in spirits or possibly beer without too much hassle but would love ideas of other industries that my skillset might translate to.
Skills:
Quality Control: wine chemistry and interpretation of results, packaging materials and application, sensory analysis
Logistics: plan and execute short and long-term analysis and production schedules, manage purchasing for lab
Process Rigor: create processes and procedures to drive continuous improvement and structure training
I've basic MS Office skills, data entry/database skills, train and supervise a group of interns every year for harvest (about 6 weeks) but don't have any formal management experience to draw from. A lot of my job involves coordinating/liaising with the various facets of my department (cellar crew, production crew, winemaking team, lab technician) to facilitate the production schedule occurring as planned. Problem solving, communication, crisis management, strategy all are a part of that.
The wrinkles!
I want to leave the United States (I have dual citizenship with the UK, that is my goal)
I've been working onsite during the epidemic and have found it increasingly stressful. I don't yet know where my break point is, but I know it exists. My closest coworker was kind enough to let me know that she spent Thanksgiving at home with her husband and didn't visit anyone, but I know that at least two people in my department(22 people total), including my boss, had Thanksgiving with out-of-state family. Christmas is sure to be similar.
I do not want to have to live through another fire season; between that and COVID I expect my my mental health may make having a job lined up before leaving my current position rather unlikely.
So, what brilliant ideas might you have? Something I could step right into, or an idea that might take a certificate/workshop of some sort to help grow my skillset to fit into?
Please let me know if you would like more information to better assist your brainstorming.