“Your learning curve in your twenties predicts your earning curve in your thirties and beyond,” says Meg Jay, associate professor at the University of Virginia and author of The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter and How To Make The Most of Them Now. But there is a difference between seeking out diverse experiences in your career and avoiding your career, Jay adds. “Learning . . . about work and love and yourself, is going to pay off down the line in all sorts of ways.”