You contributing isn't a problem! It's awesome that you found a project that speaks to your interests and is fun to contribute to. In fact, I often recommend

You contributing isn't a problem! It's awesome that you found a project that speaks to your interests and is fun to contribute to. In fact, I often recommend folks looking to get into tech to do exactly that, or at least have a few side projects they tinker with to demonstrate proficiency and willingness to learn. My complaint here was with the authors using your journey (which you weren't doing expecting to be hired, which is important) as an example of what others should do to get a systems eng job. Honestly, if you already have development experience and want to move into some other subfield, my advice in your general case would be to use your network to get a referral into companies you're interested in or message recruiters offering those jobs indicating your interest.