Leaving Corporate America

[84CAB]

I'm thinking about leaving a extremely large company and going to work for a much smaller company or maybe working for myself. The upside- less pressure(I think) and hopefully working for a company that doesn't pi$$ of all its customers every few months with bonehead decisions, and hopefully less travel. Downside - walking away from a nice salary and retirement/benifit plan. Maybe it just one of those "grass is greener" things I don't know. Has anyone here done something like this in the past and if so would you do it again?

[Dantilla]

Self-employed here. Never regretted it.

Not always easy, but always worth it.

[charleskieffner]

yes after last aerospace layoff.in '97....................the grass is greener! only downside. health insurance is a pain. screw corporate amerika. never in my life did i see so many bumbling decisions made that pissed off customers and affected bottom line. and these were decisions made by supposed "educated - wise men" hahahahaha. you only live once! at least make it fun. IF IT AINT FUN..............DONT DO IT! or ask yourself this...........CAN I LIVE WITH IT?????

[74-911]

Yes, and Yes I would definitely do it again.
Caveats:
Small co.'s can be just as bumbling as large ones. Is the co. in strong financial condition, is it liable to be bought out?. Talk to current employees if possible about working conditons, advancement opportunities, management, etc. Due diligence is the operative word for small companies.
The above is from my perspective as a partner in a software business we started in 1978 and sold in 2003. I walked out of a well paying, secure job with great benefits in 1978 to do it. It provided well for my family and is now funding my retirement. If you start your own business, the minute you hire your first employee you become management and the problems begin.... Are you willing to forego a paycheck this month in order to meet payroll? We did it more than once in the early days.
Despite the assurances otherwise of the co. that bought us out, the 30 employees we had in 2003 are now down to 3.

If you go the self-employment route and you fail, you have no one but yourself to blame. But if you succeed it will be the best move you ever made.

As one sage once said, our true regrets in life are not the things we did but the things we didn't do.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Congrats!

I'm considering something similar myself. One job offer on the table right now, another pending - both with much smaller, much less "corporatized" firms that are heavy into design architecture rather than mass-production crapola like I'm doing now. Can't wait to lob that "see ya!" hand grenade into my boss' office in the next week or so. Should be good entertainment as I KNOW I'm one of their best people and it's going to leave them in a ****ty situation.

But hey, I gotta' do what's best for me, right?

[Big Ed]

Originally posted by Dantilla
Self-employed here. Never regretted it.

Not always easy, but always worth it.

+1.

I made the move in August 2001. It was lean the first 2 years. Health insurance and slef employment tax are expensive.

No regrets.

[84CAB]

Great responses...Keep them coming. My main concern is that I don't want to trade one set of problems for another. I was once told "When you change jobs you are either running away from something or running to something". I want to run to something. Problem is it's kinda like jumping off a cliff to begin the run.

[sand_man]

I'd love to leave and do my own thing too, but just haven't been able to connect the dots. I know what my passions are and what hobbies make me happy, I'm just not sure how to turn them into a successful career and if long term that would be wise.

I'm at a point with my family that I'm afraid to subject their current lifestyle to too much risk 'cause daddy hates "the man"! So I keep on and use my family, car, and audio hobbies as distractions to get me through.

At times it just feels likes it's all been done before, and that makes it hard for me to imagine there's room for me to have a go at something. I know there's always room for competition, I just don't have the bankroll right now to weather a cashflow storm with a new business.

ho-hum...I'm so lame

[Jims5543]

Originally posted by Big Ed
+1.

I made the move in August 2001. It was lean the first 2 years. Health insurance and slef employment tax are expensive.

No regrets.

+2

Walked away in July 1997 and have no regrets.

Health Insurance is VERY expensive and taxes are murder but the freedom and better pay (once off the ground) make up for it.

[Dottore]

I walked away from a lot of money and a nice pension a couple of years ago.

At first I was euphoric, but after a couple of months the doubts began to set in.

The important thing of course is NOT to pack in your day job until you have something else, or a plan for something else that you will be happier with.

Once I got stuck - I mean really stuck - into my new career all doubts disappeared very quickly - and I couldn't be happier.

The only thing is still miss occasionally is that expense account...

[RANDY P]

Self employed. Taxes are a bastard. Been like this for years...

If you deal with the end consumer directly then be prepared for lots of hours, you lose having others there to cover you..

rjp

[Vipergrün]

Add me to the list, I have an offer on the table persuading me to leave "the company which holds all knowledge" and go to a 150 person corp doing some pretty progressive stuff. Caveats, no commute now and would have 35-45 each way and health bene's are big bucks. I'll probably get a policy thru ehealthinsurance or the like and suck it up on the larger deductable for a lower premium. Plus the offered salary should way more than make up for it. I say go for it. If things go as planned, I am out on Monday.

Good luck!

[jriera]

Don't know how old are you .... but consider corporate america as an early retirement .... I know I have done it.

Been with the same company since 1991 (on the Fortune 10 category), left in 2000 for a small dot com venture, great learning, great product, went broke, my previous company re-hired me in 2003, never looked back.

My knowledge and capabilities are in high demand (Senior architect, IT technology) and probably every month I get several calls from headhunters. I have decided that I prefer a 'normal' 9-to-5 job and be able to enjoy life, family, Porsche and the benefits than going back to be a road warrior again (i.e. more than 2 million miles with American in less than 10 years).

I am 47, YMMV

[azasadny]

I'm going through these same decisions/options right now as I'm an IT guy at Ford. I do some IT work "on the side" and if I had 10 clients just like my largest client, I could make my "part-time" job my "full-time" job. I'm leaving 11 years at Ford and a promising career, but the US auto industry is gone and I don't want to stay here (at Ford) for the "death by one thousand paper cuts". I'm aggressively pursuing other opportunities right now... It's "scary" but then so is anything that's important!

[azasadny]

If I take a "voluntary separation package", I get 6 months salary for severance, if I wait and get selected for an "involuntary package", I get 4 months for severance. I will get offered a package (as will everyone I work with) in mid December, so I have a little time to make alot of big decisions...

[Moneyguy1]

Art:

Unless I missed it, How is the economic climate in your neck of the woods? Would you be open to the idea of relocation? Down here we have a lot of small companies in high tech fields connected with the University and defense contractors. It might be the same in some other areas as well. I do not follow the employment picture like I used to.

[azasadny]

Bob,

I'm open to relocation as jobs in my area (metro Detroit) are drying up for obvious reasons. IT at Ford is going to take a major hit as part of the "Way Forward" at Ford and I want to be as "proactive" as possible and look for other opportunities as soon as possible (now!). Selling our recently-renovated home will be a problem as you can't give houses away around here. I would prefer to stay here if at all possible, but relocating is something I'm seriously considering, especially to a region of the country with a more mild climate and stronger economy...

[Vipergrün]

Originally posted by azasadny
Bob,

I'm open to relocation as jobs in my area (metro Detroit) are drying up for obvious reasons. IT at Ford is going to take a major hit as part of the "Way Forward" at Ford and I want to be as "proactive" as possible and look for other opportunities as soon as possible (now!). Selling our recently-renovated home will be a problem as you can't give houses away around here. I would prefer to stay here if at all possible, but relocating is something I'm seriously considering, especially to a region of the country with a more mild climate and stronger economy...

Art, hopefully you will have some resolve soon. Been there done that.

If I had really spent time looking when we moved last year, I think I would have ended up in the Carolinas. Seems the economy is still decent, housing affordable, lots of tech jobs (there like a tech triangle or something they call it). I know folks who live in Ashville and love it and they moved from Santa Barbara. I think you get some of the best things of some places, without the harsh bad of others, if that makes sense. Just a thought. Good luck to you. Oh, I'd take the money and run unless you know for sure the non-voluntary package will exist down the road. Ford will stop at nothing to save cash and I don't think I'd put my eggs in that basket..maybe I'm just paranoid.

[arcsine]

I walked from a big dollar biotech career and started my own graphic design company. Did that for a while and loved it (expect the taxes). Got a job as a designer at another biotech and walked from that even bigger dollar job to get a job at a university. Huge step down in pay but huge step up in quality of life. I am completely done with the corporate world, no more cubicles for me. Pay and bennies are enticing in corporations but I could not stomach working with the living dead walking the hallways.

[Scooter]

Just made the change less than 6 months ago.....went from a firm to solo practitioner....have never looked back.