Failure to launch: Are you starting your life too late? 30 is not the new 20, argues clinical psychologist Meg Jay. Picture: Universal Pictures Source: Supplied FOR Rachel Kelly, the alarm bells started ringing when she was 27. She had just come back to Australia after six weeks of what was going to be a two-year working holiday in Europe. Having packed up her life before leaving, she came home to a totally clean slate. But she also came home with no plan for the future. At age 18, she had started a university degree straight out of high school, but dropped out after 18 months. She fell into a "horrendous" administration job, which had been her unfulfilling bread and butter ever since. At 25 Rachel tried to get out of admin and into a personal training career, but found the industry too difficult break into. Like everything I tried beforehand, I never fully committed. I was still young, I didn't have that kind of perseverance - that ability to see something through and work through the hard times," Ms Kelly said. I gave up too easily, definitely. I kind of quit before I got started. But [personal training] was a qualification I finished, which spurred me on to think maybe I am capable of seeing something through. Rachel Kelly, 31, spent her 20s figuring out the career she would like to pursue and is about to graduate university with a bachelor of business. After moving to London for her working holiday, she realised she couldn't stay overseas without the partner she left behind in Australia. But when she got home she realised she needed a plan - fast. When I got to 27, I thought if I don't have a degree now, when am I going to get one? If I'm trying to balance having kids in the future and all that sort of stuff, I've got to do it now," she said. It had been a thorn in my side since I finished school, that I needed to finish a degree if I ever intended on getting any sort of career progression. Ms Kelly enrolled in a Bachelor Of Business, majoring in marketing, and now aged 31 she is set to graduate in a few weeks. She has a 'light at the end of the tunnel' - graduate job lined up, which she starts in January next year. She doesn't regret taking the time to figure out the career she wanted to pursue, but she does feel pressured by time. Read: Three tips for reinventing your career It is definitely a balancing act. I've had to sit down with my partner and calculate the next five years. You know, I'm going to be in this job and hopefully within two years I will get a promotion. I want to think about kids by 35, I want to think about travel and certainly buying a house. To squeeze those things we need a plan. Every year has to count," Ms Kelly said. In my 20s I didn't have a plan at any point and that's why I woke up at 27 and thought 'It's now or never'. Rachel's story is a common one. In a TED talk earlier this year, clinical psychologist Meg Jay argued that "30 is not the new 20." At a time when work happens later, marriage happens later and even death happens later, 20-somethings often mistakenly believe they have "nothing but time." Our 20s are that critical period of adult development. Dr Jay said. As a culture we have trivialised what is actually the defining decade of adulthood. Matthew McConaughey plays the ultimate slow starter in the movie Failure to Launch. Picture: Paramount Source: Supplied Career management expert Russell Johnson says people should figure out a career they want to pursue by the time they hit 30. "I think if, depending on what your career is, if you're not on a path by the mid-to-late-20s that's really leading you somewhere and showing you evidence of progression you risk being sidelined," said Mr Johnson, managing director of EPR Career Management. The advantage always lies with the person who knows what they want to do early and gets on and does it. Early momentum is key. People who get momentum early on keep on getting momentum and get more opportunities. Read: Avoid these mistakes when changing jobs Mr Johnson says it's better to do something you're slightly interested in, even if it's not the dream job you had in mind. Even if it turns out to be a bit wrong you'll learn a lot from it. If you're achieving something from it you'll be able to demonstrate transferable skills. Starting a graduate job in your late 20s or 30s can set you back years in terms of promotions and wages growth. If you're good enough and noticed enough, your wages can grow very, very quickly. But if you're starting out late, it's harder to get noticed when you've got other younger people who have already got headway," said Mr Johnson. It's easy to get mistaken for someone who wasn't promoted because they weren't promotable, and has been held down in the ranks. University degrees and other qualifications are extremely valuable, but it's important to study with an end goal. Justine Davies, editor of financial research organisation Canstar, says spending your 20s travelling or studying isn't wasteful but it can have a negative impact on your financial security in the future. I think there are a lot of benefits to travelling and having all those really important life experiences when you're younger. It makes you a well-rounded person, gives you more worldview and potentially prevents a midlife crisis," Ms Davies said. But you do have to weigh that up with the financial costs. Especially if you plan on buying property. "If you don't buy a house until your mid-thirties you won't pay it off until you're 60," she said. That doesn't leave much spare cash for things like school fees, family holidays and other fun stuff you might want to do in your 40s. Read: Five things you should do before you leave a job you hate Ms Davies also warned against studying for too long. You can definitely study too much or study without a clear direction in life. It hurts you financially because you're paying off HECS for years, which then impedes on future financial things you might want to do like mortgage," she said. Qualifications are fantastic but you should have some sort of end ambition. It really is difficult in your 20s to know what you want to do. The important thing is to do it. Sometimes you have to act, even if it's not your ideal job. Get that work experience, learn how to deal with workmates, learn how politics works in business. I really encourage people just to act and work out what they want to do down that track.