Both paths are solid, but the real value today is at the intersection. Backend gives you the logic, but DevOps ensures it actually works at scale. If you want to be super relevant for an internship, you should definitely look into the MLOps side of things—it’s basically where these two worlds meet for AI projects. I recently had to deal with this transition and found these mlops development services https://apprecode.com/services/mlops-services . It really helped me wrap my head around how to automate model deployments properly without the usual headaches. It’s a much more specialized niche than just general backend work, and it’s definitely where the industry is heading.