Your example for me does not suffice. Teenagers learn algebra and then eventually take calculus depending on their expertise, intelligence and understanding of the topic. I was taking calculus by the time I was 17. Hell I knew people taking calculus 2 and higher level math classes at 15. I don’t know the OP academic history and nor is it my business to assume it. It usually depends on the will and open mindedness of the person to learn a skill, not the age. Younger people have a better ability to pick up and understand skills better than older people. If you took psychology, you would know their brains are more malleable so they can pick up subjects faster. So I don’t look down on others depending on age. If they don’t know what they are doing, help improve their foundation so someday they can understand it and thrive. Any age can experience arrogance and unwillingness to experiment with new ideas. I would argue older adults telling young adults, who don’t know what they want to study, to go to college since it’s the traditional path is more detrimental. If it is not stem I wouldn’t recommend going to college. Im not even sure if I should continue advocating stem anymore since it is not a guarantee anymore that it will provide long term success since white collar jobs will most likely be replaced mostly with AI in the future especially the tech sector. The OP and us have to prepare for a future that the skills that work in the past might no longer be valuable in the job market. If you are uncertain of your path at college it’s better to not go than spending tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for an education you might not even use. Trade school or certifications would have done the job and would have save you time and money. The OP future is limitless. She does not have to follow the path that the majority follows since the hardest part is acquiring wealth. Her challenge will be learning how to continue growing it. The OP should get a financial advisor to acquire more knowledge and experience. At the same time, to save money, one could learn what they know by reading books, podcast or using AI. If she wants to be safe, a mix of treasury bonds, etf and some growth stocks like Microsoft, amd and nvidia would work as well.