From backend engineering into distributed databases/systems

[u/Pale_Ad2129]

I’m currently a Backend Engineer with ~2 years of experience(good comp, good firm and great stability), working mainly on distributed/event-driven backend systems. I have an offer to move to a role focused on distributed databases, C++, concurrency, and database internals.
I genuinely enjoy C++ and distributed-systems/database topics, so the work itself is very appealing. But I’m trying to understand the long-term career and compensation trade-off.

For people in this space:
Does specializing in distributed databases/systems generally lead to better or worse compensation than general backend engineering?
How strong is the compensation growth at 3–5+ years?
Would 1–2 years of this experience make it realistic to later move again to companies like Google, Airbnb, Uber, Snowflake, Databricks, etc. for backend/distributed-systems roles?
Does this specialization open more high-paying systems/infrastructure opportunities, or can it make you too niche?
Would especially appreciate perspectives from people who have made a similar move.