IMHO, one of the biggest mistakes you make when you leave University (to pursue any career) is to try to replicate the same lifestyle. This is especially so if you're at the university I think you're at (which is also where I studied) - you're not going to replicate that experience anywhere else, and if that's what you're trying to do you're going to end up disappointed. I know, because that's exactly what I did.
Whether you go ahead with IOT or choose another path, embrace what you do for what it is, and do it the very best you can; this is the road to fulfilment and a happy life. Some aspects of your life will not be as good, some will be better. Make the best of the opportunities, shrug off the disappointments.
This isn't the last big lifestyle change you're going to have to deal with. You may get married, you may have kids; one day you will almost certainly retire. At every life change, look back and appreciate the great things you did but can no longer do, accept that you're not doing those things any more, and give the next phase of your life everything you have - as with almost everything, you get out what you put in.