No comment on whether the $1M AUD goal is reasonable (other than you have to start where YOU are and don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good). But, since

No comment on whether the $1M AUD goal is reasonable (other than you have to start where YOU are and don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good). But, since you mentioned your age and other posters are also commenting on it: 1. Ignore those who say "don't be so serious at 20." You're VERY WISE to consider the path that you're on: you're not going to magically become experienced when you reach a certain age, and it's a competitive job market, and brutally so for the younger and less experienced. You're facing the classic dilemma of how to get enough experience to be employable...one which I'm also struggling with and I'm older than you. I wonder if some of the "superstars" in your program had parents or older siblings who were in software, to provide them with "tribal knowledge" and connections. Anyway, it's your life, and I commend you for examining its direction so that you can do something about it. 2. Consider reading "Seasons of a Man's Life" by Levinson. It starts very slowly, and is somewhat dated (life today is a little more flexible and fluid, but not that much), but it's an interesting guide to the different stages of adult life. Again, if you're like me, you had some idea of what was expected of you in childhood and teens (Prepare For University!), but not so much after that. It turns out that for most of us, life is both richer and less predictable than "secondary school, university, job, marriage, gold watch retirement, death."