I’m not 100% sure of your intent. Do you want to be an EE who works with product designers, or do you want to be a product designer with EE knowledge? If you really want to pursue Product/Industrial design from a design standpoint my opinion is that you will need the skills (Research, Sketching, CAD, etc) to do the job. The part where you said “I’m concerned the kids with a resume worthy GPA and internship/research experience are getting asked for the interviews while someone like me who might be a more useful hire are getting overlooked.” throws me off a bit because from my experience (keep in mind I am a young designer) your GPA really doesn’t really matter, and your resume isn’t necessarily even that big of a deal, its your portfolio that really gets you the job. Good luck, i’m excited for you that you’re finding your true passion.