"If you feel comfortable in a situation, start looking around," a senior graphic designer who works through our Philadelphia office told me, "Comfort and stability breed stagnation."
She came to this conclusion after working 8 years as a creative services manager for a major healthcare organization followed by an 18 month stint with a consulting firm. Although in her career she had gone from serving as a graphic designer and art director to managing them, the work eventually became predictable and, well, boring. She had been "tinkering with the idea" of going freelance for most of her career and so she took the plunge.
She was pleasantly surprised to discover that there is "life after the corporate world." Thanks to her own network of contacts at regional hospitals, and a couple positions that Aquent found her, she says, "I'm busier than I've ever been." Although the hourly rates can run higher when you are self-employed, she's found that contracting "offers you the opportunity to try something and see how it fits. It can be a good segue between working full-time and freelancing."
Leaving the safety of a full-time position can be unnerving, but, as she puts it, "There's something to be said for instability. I find it motivating."
Do you?
A creature of change (I never understood stability being we moved so much growing up), I found that I craved change and learning curves too much...which is probably why I've worked independently for 8 years.
It actually gives one more job stability to be not only open to, but very much accepting of change. And it can give you more job security being you're always honing new skills (as skills and talent are truly one's best job security).