Need input from mid-career dara Scientists (2-5 year range)

I am a DS with 2YOE (plus about 6 coops). I’m looking for feedback from folks specifically transitioned out of early career and into mid-career phase. (Unfortunately I don’t have any in my immediate network)

Context: I’m coming upto 2 years in my role and have been seriously evaluating the next stage of my career.

Questions: 1. Does having a decent resume land you your next role, or even for a mid-level role do you need to network extensively i.e. what’s the most optimal method for this stage of career progression.

1. Most of the work I’ve done so far has been POC-based i.e. we find business problems and work with teams to create MVPs. Its been an interesting experience as I get to experiment with different methods and almost derive the solution from scratch, without having to worry too much about MLE/MLOps. Does this kind of work exist at this next Intermediate level? And will this kind of role even exist into the future?

2. How do you decide between being able to climb up the ladder in your current company? Or switch to a different industry, maybe one that aligns more with your passion/interests, but also risk losing all of that “capital” you’ve invested into in the current company?

Apologies if this is a bit all over the place, but it was a little tough getting my thoughts across.

Also would love if anyone is down to discuss more in detail on dm, if that’s preferred.

Thanks a lot!