What she said.Christine43 wrote:I have a nineteen year old son.... I told him above all he needed to be happy and I mean it. ... You'll know when it's right to go back to school or maybe you'll find something else you want to do. ... I went back to school at 42 and I'm doing just fine....
I left after getting just an AA degree, then went back to get my BA at 34. I wasn't ready for it at 20, I was fourteen years (and a change of major) later.
At work we talk about making "high quality errors". Those are the ones where you follow your heart, then have to fall back and try again when you have a change of heart (or just more data). This is a better class of error than following the advice of others, because their advice won't change, no matter how badly it matches your needs.
Just remember to invest some small fraction of your income, even when on minimum wage. Even 1% of your income saved over time will permit much greater flexibility later in life.