I would assume since they're left off that this is the issue. You obviously pivoted your career goals but to me this looked suspicious. If all your experience is projects for the bootcamps (not in tandem) then i would say thats something you need to work on--more personal projects.

What's a better approach? Most new grads just put what they worked on for class, and most mid-level+ engineers don't even work on personal projects or open-source contributions anymore (ignoring the above and beyond people, of course). Once I get enough work experience I don't plan on leaving my current projects up at all.

I mean in your first post you didnt say people were telling you you have too little experience. You said they were assuming you were looking for different positions outside SE--but now you're saying they have told you you are too junior.

Let me clarify: I either get a response rejecting me for lack of experience, OR I get a response rejecting me for lack of experience but redirecting me to another role and giving me a phone screen for that.

I dont mean to be rude, but I hardly believe that after 3 months you're anywhere near ready for a midlevel position. 4 years of undergrad schooling and internships, most new grads are not ready for midlevel positions. Its not JUST the technical skill, its also other skills such as planning and communication and how to work with a team. That midlevel target might be whats causing you to stumble.

Hey man, you're not being rude. I welcome your opinion. I'm not only targeting midlevel roles, but most companies, especially less than 100, don't even have role definitions beyond Software Engineer and Senior Software Engineer, and the Software Engineer position doesn't explicitly state years of experience. Is that implicitly saying that we aren't interested in ANY entry level engineers?