Certainly the real embedded world, which is beyond embedded "toys" [1], can be a cultural shock when you come from general CS.
And indeed, just like "making games" can be attractive for young people but far less so as an actual job (from what I've heard), embedded can be fun when playing with IoT-like toys, but it actually needs a lot of patience and tenacity when you do it as a job (from experience).
[1] No disdain here. Those MCUs and SoCs are used in actual products, but here they are not used "seriously".
And indeed, just like "making games" can be attractive for young people but far less so as an actual job (from what I've heard), embedded can be fun when playing with IoT-like toys, but it actually needs a lot of patience and tenacity when you do it as a job (from experience).
[1] No disdain here. Those MCUs and SoCs are used in actual products, but here they are not used "seriously".