Want systems roles, but keep getting firmware jobs as a junior dev. /u/Master_Ad2532 CSCQ protests reddit

Hi everyone, first some terminologies which might not be common internationally:
OA = Online Assesment
PPO = idk the full-form, it basically means u get a full-time offer after an intern
CP = Competitive Programming
on-campus = Roles offered by companies that come directly to your uni
off-campus = Roles you’re searching for on your own/outside the help of your uni

<context>
I’m about to graduate next year in April (BTech in CS from a good and reputed uni). I already have a job lined up via PPO in a big American hardware company (good TC for my country) for a firmware role. Now I’ve never liked webdev/appdev or any kind of “user-facing” role. Pretty much since the start of my uni, I’ve always focused more on systems domain and my projects reflect that (making a shell from scratch, making an async executor, etc.). Best way I could describe it is that I love engineering computers, but not engineering products.
Now, though I was satisfied and happy with the work I was going to be doing, I’ve heard bad things about the work culture in the specific team I’m most likely going to be joining. So, I started searching around again. Eventually through LinkedIn I landed another winter intern in an America-based startup who I’m really excited to be working for (they use a very popular memory-safe language for their work, and I’m a big fan of that). This is also a firmware role.
</context>
Here’s my issue, during my search both during on-campus and off-campus, since my profile is so niche (no todo application, no website clones, etc.) I don’t really fit in the requirements of a regular tech role. So, I never really get into the door of most companies (not even OA). And I didn’t do CP in uni, so in on-campus opportunities I couldn’t clear OAs since most of them asked CP (I’m good at “normal” DSA i.e Leetcode and would get up-to-speed with some practice). For those that I did get through to, I ended up getting the job i.e only got through in the intern for that PPO job and this winter intern. That’s my concern. I really love to work in these places, but I don’t want to be cornered into an even smaller niche of systems than I wanted. I can (and would love to) work on databases, kernels, optimisation tasks, networking-related stuff, even backend works fine for me. However, from what I’ve looked at, none of them want to hire a junior dev or an intern for these roles, or atleast I didn’t see one.

How do I ensure a career path where I get to work in these systems roles while not becoming solidifed as a niche embedded software engineer? I need more information on if systems roles are out there for junior devs too, and if so how to prepare for them and use my experience in embedded as a leverage, given there’s probably a big knowledge overlap with someone who already operates at that low-level.

Hi everyone, first some terminologies which might not be common internationally:
OA = Online Assesment
PPO = idk the full-form, it basically means u get a full-time offer after an intern
CP = Competitive Programming
on-campus = Roles offered by companies that come directly to your uni
off-campus = Roles you’re searching for on your own/outside the help of your uni

<context>
I’m about to graduate next year in April (BTech in CS from a good and reputed uni). I already have a job lined up via PPO in a big American hardware company (good TC for my country) for a firmware role. Now I’ve never liked webdev/appdev or any kind of “user-facing” role. Pretty much since the start of my uni, I’ve always focused more on systems domain and my projects reflect that (making a shell from scratch, making an async executor, etc.). Best way I could describe it is that I love engineering computers, but not engineering products.
Now, though I was satisfied and happy with the work I was going to be doing, I’ve heard bad things about the work culture in the specific team I’m most likely going to be joining. So, I started searching around again. Eventually through LinkedIn I landed another winter intern in an America-based startup who I’m really excited to be working for (they use a very popular memory-safe language for their work, and I’m a big fan of that). This is also a firmware role.
</context>
Here’s my issue, during my search both during on-campus and off-campus, since my profile is so niche (no todo application, no website clones, etc.) I don’t really fit in the requirements of a regular tech role. So, I never really get into the door of most companies (not even OA). And I didn’t do CP in uni, so in on-campus opportunities I couldn’t clear OAs since most of them asked CP (I’m good at “normal” DSA i.e Leetcode and would get up-to-speed with some practice). For those that I did get through to, I ended up getting the job i.e only got through in the intern for that PPO job and this winter intern. That’s my concern. I really love to work in these places, but I don’t want to be cornered into an even smaller niche of systems than I wanted. I can (and would love to) work on databases, kernels, optimisation tasks, networking-related stuff, even backend works fine for me. However, from what I’ve looked at, none of them want to hire a junior dev or an intern for these roles, or atleast I didn’t see one.

How do I ensure a career path where I get to work in these systems roles while not becoming solidifed as a niche embedded software engineer? I need more information on if systems roles are out there for junior devs too, and if so how to prepare for them and use my experience in embedded as a leverage, given there’s probably a big knowledge overlap with someone who already operates at that low-level.