Actually, there haven’t been ‘plenty of jobs’ in my area over the past 20 years. When I left the hospital for various reasons, after 20 years of continuous employment, 17 of those at the same place, it took me almost a year to land another job that wasn’t anywhere close to value or pay in what I’d been doing before. One of the other things I learned when I was in my 30s, you’re not as in demand as you thought you’d be!
I told my kids, that be ready to be self-employed by the time you’re 40, and start saving up for that day as soon as possible.