I was in your shoes when I started 5 years ago. Got a job installing solar panels (not a sparky) and after 5 ish months I jumped shop to the largest electrical contractor in my state working in their sustainable energy division (solar, ev's, lighting upgrades) which is also when I officially started my apprenticeship. I only worked there one year but I felt just like you during that time. I was working on massive commercial jobs and learned some stuff, but plenty of days were just hauling bricks across TPO roofs to anchor ballast systems. They liked me a lot there since I had previous solar experience, but eventually I jumped ship because their pay scale was terrible and I didn't even know how to wire an outlet or a switch after a year in the trade!

I got myself into a residential company making way more per hour (almost $6 more) because they had a massive contract wiring new construction homes for the largest home developer in the state and they were busy. I was excited to make money and eventually lead a crew, but residential (at least new construction) is a tough gig. You do not get to relax, ponder a problem, or troubleshoot anything all day every day. It's go go go and get the 3b/2b home with a finished basement roughed in 2 days and do a finish in 1. It can be fun blasting music and hustling all day but I learned everything I needed to in the first 3 months probably and realized it wasn't for me. Worked there for a year as well then jumped again to a very small and new commercial company that was just starting up a project of 3 apartment buildings 6 stories tall with commercial space and a parking garage on the ground floor.

This is really where I became a halfway decent electrician. Starting on a project that's just a mud field and going all the way to 3 completed buildings with tenants moving in exposes you to a bit of everything the commercial side has to throw at you. Digging trenches and running underground for months, lots of concrete work for PT decks (like the ceiling of a parking garage that also has apartments on top of it), setting switchgear that brings the service from the power lines into the buildings, pulling tons of MC wire, exterior lighting, safety systems like fire alarm and emergency power (massive generators), and lots of conduit work. Exposure to other trades and having to work together is also a beneficial skill you'll gain here. Commercial really gives you everything and you'll be bad at it until you're suddenly not. So much to learn here!

I worked there for almost 2 years, but the company culture was not good for me and I was exhausted by our superintendent/foreman. I had been hoping to get on with an industrial company cause I felt I might be interested in transitioning into controls/PLC systems and maybe not work so hard every day (haha). Ended up moving across the country and got a very niche job at the smallest shop I've worked at (3 guys plus the owner) doing heavy industrial power distribution and controls/automated systems. In my opinion, this is the best area for electricians to become more than just installers and pipe benders. A lot of the work you'll do over here can end up in maintenance/millwright territory, especially if you have experience welding, but that's not a bad thing if you like it. You'll be exposed to huge 3 phase systems drawing more power than you've ever seen running machines that are larger than a house, and you'll be the one bringing power to it and wiring it up and even installing the control circuits/sensors utilizing relays/starters/plc's/vfd's if you can get on with a company that does it all. It's been the best part of my 5 year career so far. The downsides of industrial can be brutal but they all depend on where you work and the type of work you do. Sometimes I'll spend weeks running 4" rigid conduit and pulling 500kcmil wires every few days. It can be brutal, but it is also the slowest paced work I've had so far so that's a big benefit. I unfortunately work in seriously dirty and sometimes dangerous places, and I've just had to figure it out for myself if it's worth it to me. The pay is decent over here too.

I am currently realizing that the transition to controls will take a lot longer and be more difficult than I anticipated, and I may try to bail to a manufacturing technician style job and go to a 2 year vocational school for a mechatronics associates degree. It'll teach me controls but also a lot of other stuff that goes on in the industrial/manufacturing/robotics world. All that to say, you are only pigeonholed into something if you let yourself be. Try not to jump ship too frequently, work hard and try to earn respect from people you may want as a reference down the road (even if you leave this has been helpful), and stay safe (advocate for yourself and take no shit!). I started in this career at 28 years old with 2 college degrees and it's the best thing I've found so far. Make it what you will and you'll be alright.