Who says you have to work a 9-5 indefinitely? Take some time to find a position that aligns with what you want to work on and do that for a while. Save up, live

Who says you have to work a 9-5 indefinitely? Take some time to find a position that aligns with what you want to work on and do that for a while. Save up, live frugally and you will have more runway to do your own thing. Plus you will make people connections and perhaps even learn some new things about running and maintaining a business. You could even go work in academia or for a non-profit.