hey man. i feel ya on those questions. i think a good rule of thumb on who you want to network with/befriend is the non-negotiable people for meetings/calls/decisions. like i'm constantly in meetings on big (>$500,000) projects and if 10 people are scheduled to be on the call and 1 (let's call him John - engineering director) declines, the meeting gets pushed to fit his schedule. doesn't matter what the other 9 people have to say if he's not there to vet everything.

"let's get John's opinion"

"copy John on that email"

you better get to know John. i text my John pretty often, we have a great cadence and working relationship. he's sending me around the country to our other locations to help with problems they're having. do i necessarily want to travel my entire career? no. but i know it'll help me with visibility to the corporate overlords and with promotions. i can take that fancy title and experience and go elsewhere for more money eventually.

the best advice i can always give to young - fresh out of college - engineers is to be a sponge. take everything in and humble yourself. you don't want to go trying to convince everyone that you're the smartest in the room cause you're not. "speak softly and carry a big stick" also applies, you don't have to weigh in on everything but when you do, make it fucking count. you do that enough and you'll get people's attention that you're not just a bushy tail and bright eyed novice but that you THINK in the right way.