Concerned being in HVAC writing too long will limit my career routes down the road - time to go into contracting?

About five years with the same HVAC manufacturer now. A month ago I threw an application out for a quantum computing firm "document engineer". Didn't get a call back after the interview. Not heartbreaking. I wasn't supremely interested in leaving HVAC at the time, just thought working with quantum hardware would have been really cool.

Now I'm worried that my HVAC pedigree was a real limiting factor which, when I think about it, makes sense. The longer I'm in an industry, the harder I feel it would be to move horizontally into another industry - not without starting from a lower rung at least.

My gut says jumping into contracting or consulting would be the right move, as it would allow me to gain experience and HVAC wouldn't limit my recruitment as much (hopefully) with comparable pay rates to what I make now.

Does anyone have experience trying this route?