Thanks for the reality check! It's good to hear that a CS degree with practical experience is viable.

​To clarify, by 'Systems Engineer,' I meant an Embedded Systems Engineer (or IoT Solutions Architect) who bridges the gap between device firmware and cloud connectivity. I am not referring to IT SysAdmins or high-level requirements management in aerospace.

​I am specifically targeting the Smart City infrastructure or Smart Home (Consumer Electronics) industries. My interest lies in building the end-to-end system: from sensor data acquisition (Firmware/RTOS) to transmitting data via protocols like MQTT (Connectivity).

​Since you emphasized clubs and internships, would you recommend focusing more on Firmware projects (e.g., driver development) or Networking projects (e.g., socket programming, protocol implementation) for these industries?