Mechanical Engineer ??
I have 10 YOE Sr Engineer in small town, been working in small companies, TC 90k, definitely not very smart but i work very hard, ethics and principles, How do i get Job these top companies, where TC is higher? and work is challenging! My resume never picks up, had one interview with bay area company, 3-4 rounds with tons of questions and hypothetical situations! I felt physically, mentally & emotionally drained! Is the expectation is very smart person who nails everything?? Is there any room for average Joe ? Any suggestions greatly appreciated!
You need to first start believing in yourself. Change the attitude. What does 'definitely not smart' even mean ? If you are hardworking, then you should be able to study and get through.
That’s true, talent is matter of prescriptive, I was not able to answer lot of questions in Interview, asked to do free body diagram of hypothetical mechanism! Totally failed at it!
Switch over to cs to make the big $$
1) Try getting black belt & systems engineering certifications. You can talk a lot about your systematic & data driven approach towards problem solving. 2) Polish your resume. Tailor your resume as per the job description. 3) Grow your network. Try meeting more people, shake more hands. 4) Taking a jump from small company to extremely large company might be a stretch and very challenging. Try going to mid-size GLOBAL company. Hope this helps. Fyi: 90K with 10 YOE is less.
I can't answer most of your questions but interviews being physically, mentally and emotionally draining sounds about right.
Thanks!