Don't get hung up on the age of which you decide to make career shifts. I'm 27 years old, joined the military at 19. In just a couple short years I'll have 10 years of service in (half way to retirement) yet I'm going to be separating entirely to start a new career. Most people think I'm crazy for it, but I'm not happy with what I'm getting from the military anymore. I know lots of folks who have had career changes in their 40s and 50s. If you manage your finances correctly, you can do so much more than you'd imagine.

OP,

if you take nothing else away from this post, PLEASE take this. This is the way. It seems trivial now, but dive into finances early on and you'll learn the best way to manage your money to make the most of it and also make it work for you passively.