I've missed a couple of things here. Correct me if I'm wrong. Am self-employed for years now. Initially was a sole trader and later registered a company where I

I've missed a couple of things here. Correct me if I'm wrong. Am self-employed for years now. Initially was a sole trader and later registered a company where I pay myself wages. A couple of points: * If you're gonna be self-employed for longer than a couple of years it is advisable to have an accountant. It will attract annual costs, but you'll be more confident, have a better sleep, will be in a better position if you ever need to hire someone; * You need to read and understand more about the business side of things; it attracts time. What to do with pensions, what taxes should you pay, what costs will reduce taxes, will this agreement hold in court if you get screwed, which business software will help you in the long run, etc. * The problem space (engineering) will not be as complicated as it can be in a big corp. You will not progress in some aspects unless time and money are invested into specific courses. If you're an employee, then courses, conferences, R&D work might be included in your "remuneration". * Increasing risk of becoming unemployable in the future, having trouble going through the hiring process. * There is an increasing chance that you'll end up hiring people and become an employer $$ :) * Depending on your job, you might actually reduce the number of connections (other employees) that you might create a larger business with. On the other hand, being self-employed increases the number of connections related to the business side of things (accountants, advisers, paying customers). If you never tried being self-employed, I encourage you to do so. It is pretty hard to logically reason if you can do it and become happier.