Australia is probably different in how people get jobs, but I was the exact opposite. Studied hard, knew what I was going to do and had two degrees by the age of 25. Thing is, as a 10 year veteran in engineering I finally made as much as the guys in the shop. (Usually I made about 1/2 of what the plant operators made ... literally, I'm not lying.)

So what I'm trying to say is that you aren't as far behind the 8-ball as you think.