I think he should have paid off his student loans first...I mean, why did he bother doing a PhD and then not using it?!
I'm somewhat in a similar position (but just finishing my undergrad going into grad) but I just decided to find some restaurants to cook in and experiment myself (and watch Food Network). So many people thought I was dumb because I wanted to go to culinary school after 4 years in college but I really love to cook. I think it's hard because the restaurant industry is very hard as well and with anything, education is always a great backbone. Worse comes to worse, you can almost always rely on your degree in some way or another.
Have to agree with ahhamah. Easier said than done. When you're not in that person's shoes, its hard to rationalize the decisions.
