> And since everyone is using this topic to give their ideal advice to 17 year olds, my advice as a mid-30s guy: seriously consider becoming highly skilled at a specific thing, and don’t be scared off by the idea that it’ll take 5-10-15 years to get there.

And this is a problem with modern society today: expecting 17 year-olds to know what they want to do professionally for the rest of their lives, and to focus heavily on professional development aligned to that.

By that age, I think it's not uncommon for individuals to have interests and perhaps even dreams, but a well-defined career focus that serves as the foundation of an actionable skills development plan? Nah. That just isn't common and I'd argue not desirable. 17 year-olds should be exploring their interests, enjoying early adulthood, learning valuable lessons in the social realm, etc. Not training themselves to become compliant little worker bees.