I've noticed that for my class (I'm pushing 40), people either got kids when they were 16-20, or well after 30. Something like one third of our class had their first child around age 32-35...lots of COVID children!<p>In our case, there's a pretty clear divide between those that went straight to the workforce after HS, and those that pursued college/university, and typical professional jobs. With the latter being those that become parents late.<p>Those that I still know very close, and have been in the same situation, have all told the same story:<p>- Studied for 5 years to get a masters degree<p>- Worked for some years, until they found their career job<p>- Wanted to travel and focus on themselves, now being more financially secure and having more spare time to do so.<p>And suddenly they were 30.<p>- Spent some time finding a partner they wanted children with. Spent a year or two doing couples stuff, before a kid would take up all their time.<p>And that's pretty much how you end up as a first-time parent almost in your mid 30s.<p>Another observation is that around half of the guys have still not had any children, while around 75% of the women have become parents.