I’m not sure what advice I would give to someone pursuing higher education today.
In a lot of ways I think we can no longer rely on institutions, especially educational institutions to help us navigate the future and where we should direct our attention/learning. They are slow and bureaucratic and mired in culture wars. Meanwhile the rate of technological innovation and social change is increasing (not helped by our increasing silo-isation through social media).
A university education is not what it used to be. Not in the status it imbues you with, not in the extent to which you become a smart knowledgeable person in a particular domain and not even in the extent to which it prepares you life after university. It does not even do a good job these days of equipping you with what you need to work in your field after you graduate. This seems less true of a graduate or research degree.