@GroovyGuru My suggestion would be to get a job out of college and nightcap to build a side business that eventually allows you the financial stability to work on your own terms.
You don't necessarily need to pursue a job in finance. You have a solid understanding of numbers and can definitely get a job straight out of college with that strength alone. You can also look for start-up type environments that are going to a) grow your skills much faster than a corporate job and b) likely be far more engaging than the standard 9-5.
Use this job to fulfill your basic needs while you experiment because the process is much longer than one assumes it to be. The unforseen consequence of 'jumping ship' immediately from the 9-5 world is you'll be forced to scrape for long periods (likely your entire 20s) to fulfill your basic needs and make money. This has the benefit of making you scrappy as fuck and able to handle anything but is not a path for everyone. You'll find that you end up neglecting your greater purpose anyways since all your focused on is paying rent and eating food.
The security of a job is going to allow you space to focus on higher needs in Maslow's Hierarchy.
---------
I'm 26 now and said screw the 9-5 in the last year of my engineering degree in order do my own thing. If I could have done it differently, I would have IMMEDIATELY shifted my focus away from 'screw the 9-5' and towards, "how can put myself in an environment that will give me the skills to eventually create the freedom and creativity I was looking for". I would have looked for a job in a digital marketing agency/tech startup that was on the small side so that you can play a part in everything that was happening behind the scenes of the business, acquire useful skills, and see the process of marketing fulfilled for multiple high-level companies before attempting to do it myself.
I'm still on my path towards the freedom I'm looking for but it's taking much longer than I'm expecting. It's likely going to be another 4 years at least before I can finally take a sigh of relief... you'll save a lot of emotional distress by sucking it up for a few years at a job!
Best of luck | Cheers
Ryan
