How can a full-stack developer get started with C++ and systems programming?

You don’t have to treat this as an immediate career switch. Try a focused project for a few weeks and see whether you actually enjoy the work. Building something like a terminal shell, memory allocator, compiler toy, or network service will expose you to pointers, system calls, debugging, and performance concerns. Pair that with learning C, Linux, data structures, computer architecture, and operating systems. C++ is useful, but many systems concepts are easier to understand by first seeing how they work in C. Also keep in mind that systems programming can involve plenty of maintenance, testing, and debugging, so experimenting with a realistic project is a better test than judging it by the appeal of working close to the hardware.

Start with modern C++ fundamentals rather than jumping straight into obscure low-level tricks. Learn types, memory management, references, RAII, the standard library, classes, templates, and basic concurrency. A book or course focused on modern C++ can help, but make sure you write small programs along the way instead of only reading. Good starter projects include a command-line tool, a file indexer, a simple HTTP server, a game loop, or a small interpreter. Once you’re comfortable, study operating-system concepts such as processes, threads, virtual memory, filesystems, sockets, and synchronization. Your existing programming experience will help, but systems work also requires getting comfortable with debugging, performance measurement, and platform-specific behavior.