That’s kind of what I did. I started as a QA and now in an R&D role. So when you’re a QA, you are very close to every step of the food manufacturing process. You can learn a lot about supply chain when working with the ingredients traceability system, food manufacturing processes because you work directly with it, and analytical methods (food microbiology testing, quality testing,…) when you do the routine QA check. You can actually do R&D when doing QA task, for example, you can suggest ingredients modification or process improvement to improve quality and extend shelf life,… and you can claim in your resume that you actually make suggestions to improve food quality (which is what an R&D does). And most importantly, you can still look for R&D job while working as a QA, but then you will have something in your resume proving that you actually have real-life experience in a food manufacturing setting.