As someone who runs a company coaching software engineers on landing employment, I've worked with a number of engineers who have gone down the path of running t

As someone who runs a company coaching software engineers on landing employment, I've worked with a number of engineers who have gone down the path of running their own business or consultancy for sometime before deciding to turn towards employment in a larger corporation. Personally, I've found many of these engineers to have some of the most interesting and compelling stories and projects to add to their resume and speak to while interviewing, and in that sense believe that coming from having your own business can add greatly to being successful in the job search. That said, I do not think that is the only path towards landing a job, and in this case especially if you already have experience as a software developer. In my opinion reflection is key to understanding where roadblocks lie in terms of why one is not finding employment, even more so as most companies almost universally do not provide feedback (another topic...). In terms of "not surviving" in the job market, I'd ask where are you running into roadblocks, is it getting interviews, moving past recruiters, the technical screens, onsites, and within those categories diving more into why those opportunities did not materialize and what potential actions led to those outcomes. Would be happy to connect (email is in profile) and learn more, and you can see a bit of what we do at http://outco.io http://outco.io