Other side of the coin: I have less YoE but I've been senior engineer in the past. Over past few years I sent 10x the number of applications pretty much the same way as OP and combed my entire network and ultimately never got past a second round interview. The daily job search was a huge opportunity cost I should have taken into account and now my job-hunt savings are exhausted. To avoid homelessness it felt I had little choice but to take up menial jobs. If I'd spent that time getting certified instead I might have been able to land a marginally better position in a different industry, but nowadays if I want a roof over my head I pretty much have to work multiple jobs doing stuff I dislike. I had to move my certification studying to the weekends since there's no other time for it anymore. Hoping I can get out of my current situation ASAP.
Thanks for sharing your experience, I'm sorry to hear you were unable to find a good role and had to take on more menial work.
If I recall, there was an article I read about how certifications do not really impact getting a job but YMMV depending on what you're certifying in and what jobs you're applying to. I had one interviewer skeptical i would be able to understand their GCP so in that instance being "GCP certified" in some way would have helped me.
