Assuming we got from 18-65 to work out our careers, one could break it up into eleven year quarters, 18-29, 30-41, 42-53, 54-65.
But I wonder if that makes the most sense. Unlike a ball game, the early actions have a inordinately strong effect on the latter opportunities – in football, your options certainly become constrained as a game progresses, but they were always a fairly limited set anyways.
Maybe the big difference between a ball game and a career is that of scope creep over over time. A touchdown will always net you six to eight points, but the expected value of any given career shift generally rises as you gain experience in the profession. Balancing such bountiful gains are all those other demands on your time as the family begins to blossom.
Since I’m only nearing the end of the first half and just starting the whole family thing, I most likely should avoid too much conjecture. But it’s an interesting thought. You only get a few shots at within career, it most likely makes sense to make it count especially as you round into the second half.