This is not consistent with my experience with younger devs. There are teenagers doing kernel-level hacking and there's also older people who have been comfortably driving RAD tools for decades. This is fine. Software development has been gradually specializing and it will continue to do so. The tools and resources available for people who want to pursue low-level engineering are better, cheaper, and more accessible than ever.
My $management have said that there are nearly no teenagers who will apply for kernel work. You got someone I can reach out to when the option comes up again ?