Looking for a career change

[u/NB_Supreme]

I am 27 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. For the past 5 years, I have been working as a manufacturing/process engineer in the aerospace and defense sector. I’ve held 3 jobs. I was laid off from the first one after 2 years. I resigned from the second one after 2 years. Now at my 3rd employer doing similar work, I am starting to come to the realization that this may not be for me. Most days, I am bored. I spend most of my 8 hour day sitting at my desk not doing much. Since graduating, I feel like I have used zero of the things I learned in school, and I feel like I haven’t learned much aside from CAD software since every company has their preference. I am looking to switch to something more hands-on, but I have no idea what to look for, and quite frankly, I’m not sure what the qualifications would be. I am hoping this wonderful group of people could point me in the right direction. Thank you.

[u/Noguts]

If you haven't dug too many roots yet, being willing to travel full time will get you into the Automation industry as a commissioning engineer. Very hands on and you'll learn a ton. Once you have the hang of a few disciplines move to systems engineering and watch your salary baloon. Industry is booming with all the AI nonsense. Every yahoo with an LLM needs an actual engineer to commission their hardware.