I had a kid when I was 15. Getting to work post undergrad degree was imperative. Heck, working _during_ my degree was an absolute requirement. But work post-degree meant I could earn more. I minored in CS, my major was business. In my first year post undergrad, I went to work immediately selling and servicing insurance. Sometime after, I then moved onto financial services, then to construction as I got my teaching credential, then teaching, and, finally, after all that, eventually found my way to a 2yo start up doing software development (toss in a couple more kids along the way). It took me about 7 years to find software, and now I've been doing that ever since. It was the first time we had some wiggle room in our finances. We got our first real travel-somewhere-vacation last year. Never had a real vacation before software (even as a teacher). The first several years as a developer, time off meant repair projects around the house.<p>Long story to say that it's ok to not get directly into your career if you can manage it, but realize that the cost is potentially a year longer/delay on your financial goals, whether that be your ability to raise a family, buy a car, purchase a house, or until retirement. Also, once you have responsibilities, you won't likely be able to get back off that treadmill.