I'm 30. I dropped out of college when my girlfriend (now wife and mother of my 3) got pregnant so I could go into the work force. I settled into tech because it was lucrative, I had a couple of connections that set me up in a good position and I'm fairly good at it.
I had actually never owned a computer or operated one in any meaningful way so I built my first at 23, started out with a friend's firm and worked my way up.
I was doggedly working and pretty much hating every minute of it. I thought it was just the way life is and it's terminally unfair.
I'm in a good position with a fair amount of growth potential, and make a great salary considering my glaring lack of qualifications. Nonetheless, after my father died at the end of last year I went through a period of introspection in which I realized the potential in my life for change. I now have a concrete exit strategy which, though it will take 4-5 years will get me into what I honestly feel I want to do with my life.
It's a career in a completely different field that previous to doing some digging I didn't even realize existed. When I explained it to my wife she told me what a perfect fit it was for me. I say this to illustrate my belief that we often find ourselves constrained by the vagaries of chance, and if we don't want to be there it's up to us to figure a way out.