Every now and then you see young people be advised to do X "now, before they have a wife/family/mortgage." X can be a startup, getting a PhD, trip around the

Every now and then you see young people be advised to do X "now, before they have a wife/family/mortgage." X can be a startup, getting a PhD, trip around the world, etc. My view is that doing things differently is biting off more than one can chew and is selfish. Having done a brutal Ph.D. I cannot begin to imagine having had a child at the same time, and the irreversible damage to the kid / opportunity loss / regret that would have resulted in. Of course if you can make it work and live with yourself, more power to you. :)