Advice from a 40-something programmer: Learn how to spend responsibly, invest, and plan for your financial future. One way to do that is to work with a financial advisor. The sooner you start in your career, the better. Look for “advice only” fiduciaries who are not otherwise incentivized to promote certain investments. Start here https://adviceonlynetwork.com/.

A lot of this stuff isn’t taught in traditional schools. Sure, you could teach yourself, but I find this is an area where I prefer to have an expert in my corner.