Ben,
Not exactly a helpful response here but just thoughts triggered by your post.
If I can choose again, I will see the world before jumping straight into a career path that never ever ends. Yes work never ends anyways. Money buys a living but most often buries passion. Now thinking back, what I really missed out was the experience, the freedom to try anything while you can. Especially if you don’t really know where your passion is, don’t go looking for it in a job listing. Discover your passion with your eyes and body. You never know which trip/event will hit your spark plug and off you go with a happy devotion.

I went straight into work after graduating, while being told by senior friends to experience the world first. I never listened. The notion of getting paid regularly caught me and a year later I had a raise. Another year went by and I got a promo, then job change with a better title, then building up a career network and resume etc. and always reluctant to take a break because it’s a pain to explain to recruiters why your timeline has a gap. So? Now I’m financially stable, with a big regret =)

I always hypothesize, if I had a broader experience, I might have advanced even faster in spite of starting late. Since it’s all about what’s in your character through experience, than what you have in your brain.

Just ranting…