I disagree with all of those examples - most managers go into managing late in life. My partner, for example, is current a VP of Operations after diverting twenty years of their life to care for a son with special needs.
A whole lot of actors get into it later in life - but if you're talking about being a hollywood actor than yea - the chances of being a big movie star are vanishingly small no matter what you do.
A lot of really good lawyers go into the field after gaining experience in another specialty and there are some notable lawyers out there that didn't start practicing until well into their forties - it's a very different track than pre-law into a firm but it's quite doable.
On the topic of finance (or "high finance") unless you just generally mean "being rich" then I'd draw your eyes to the fact that the finance industry actually employs a disproportionately large number of women and boosts some of the best work/life balance you can find out there.
The normal formula is normal because it is the easiest to approach, but making shifts to your life later on in age is pretty cheap. You'd be surprised how little it costs you at 30 or 35 to start taking night classes[1] and transition to a new field - it's certainly not as easy as sticking with the same thing but it isn't particularly difficult.
1. If those are even needed, honestly formal education is a bit overvalued and having any formal education is generally transferable to other fields outside of highly specialized scientists - next time you're in the office ask around and see if one of your coworkers has a communications degree - they probably do.
A whole lot of actors get into it later in life - but if you're talking about being a hollywood actor than yea - the chances of being a big movie star are vanishingly small no matter what you do.
A lot of really good lawyers go into the field after gaining experience in another specialty and there are some notable lawyers out there that didn't start practicing until well into their forties - it's a very different track than pre-law into a firm but it's quite doable.
On the topic of finance (or "high finance") unless you just generally mean "being rich" then I'd draw your eyes to the fact that the finance industry actually employs a disproportionately large number of women and boosts some of the best work/life balance you can find out there.
The normal formula is normal because it is the easiest to approach, but making shifts to your life later on in age is pretty cheap. You'd be surprised how little it costs you at 30 or 35 to start taking night classes[1] and transition to a new field - it's certainly not as easy as sticking with the same thing but it isn't particularly difficult.
1. If those are even needed, honestly formal education is a bit overvalued and having any formal education is generally transferable to other fields outside of highly specialized scientists - next time you're in the office ask around and see if one of your coworkers has a communications degree - they probably do.