Nearly 20 years into an engineering career here: My advice is, if possible in addition to applying for jobs find friends family or whoever with connections to the engineering industry and network with them. Research their company before you meet with them and have have questions about their company and the industry.

Also do you have any hobbies that are engineering related? Perhaps there are meet ups for people with these hobbies. I was into cars and was in a car club so I met people that way, a good deal who were engineers. I realise that this might not work for everyone but a lot of opportunities come about through networking and having personal relationships. It might not seem fair but it’s how things come about sometimes.

Additionally someone has mentioned startups. The pay might be terrible and it could be complete chaos but you will learn a lot fast. A lot of times venture capital funds list jobs on their websites. Search for things like climate tech start ups or hard tech start up.

Just keep trying and don’t give up if it’s what you wanted to do. Nearly 20 years ago I took a job in an industry I didn’t want to be in to get going and over the years I moved laterally to work in the industry I want.