I know that no matter how much effort I put in I will not be promoted, so I have lost all motivation. I am a bit skeptical whether the situation is any better with direct competitors in this regard. Thoughts?
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When you interview somewhere new, ask your future manager how long he's been there. If its 20+ years, then you'll know you've got a dud rest-n-vester who is probably not qualified to do his job, but rather is in a little boys club with Directors and VP's where they protect each other, throw their engineers under the bus to save their jobs, and will never stick their neck out to promote those under them. There is a saying, "old age and treachery beat youth and skill". Look for a future manager who is enthusiastic, technically knowledgeable, and has been at the company about 5 - 10 years or less themselves. ASK him/her about whether they will support your career growth, whether in projects, responsibilities, or promotions. Ask them the size of their team, and how many are Sr engineers vs Jr engineers. If the manager is "young" and eager, he/she will fight for your promotion (if you're good) to keep you rather than lose you, to keep his team strong. If the manager is "old", he won't give a cr@p either way because HIS boss is probably his tennis partner and will never hold him accountable.
Remember, you're interviewing your future boss as much as he is interviewing you. If I had known what a piece of $#!t manager I would end up with, I would have kept looking. Try to develop your intuition in judging future managers. You have to get a good feeling about them, and you can pick up a lot by watching how they interview you.
Change jobs to get a promotion. If Q won’t promote you someone else will but you must be mobile. I also saw a senior leave Q and get rehired a year later as a manger after working at apple. Be smart and create your own destiny!