So on Thursday I quit my job.
I’ve worked at the same company (a software vendor from Microsoft) for about 5 years. It was my first and only serious job after college. I started as a temp and kind of bounced around a bit and when I quit I was an assistant program manager, which I really enjoyed. I got to work with a lot of neat people.
It felt pretty weird to actually type up my resignation letter and send it to them. I’ve been there for so long! I’m going to miss seeing my friends at work everyday and going to lunch with them. There are lots of good things about staying home, though, and E. and I manage to make it to lunch with the guys from work once in a while. And I also realize that I’m lucky to be in a position where I can stay home with E. while he’s so little and watch him grow up (Thanks N!), which he seems to be doing at an alarming rate.
Also, my company asked if I’d like to work part time from home, either as a part time employee (no benefits) or as a contractor. I said yes, and so I can can still keep my hand in the pot. I’ve decided to be a contractor because it’s more flexible (hello, deductible business expenses!), but I’m trying to decide if I should be self-employed under my own name or if I should set up an LLC or something. I know that you get killed with taxes when you’re self-employed and I’ve heard that there can be a slight advantage to setting up an entity, which I’m trying to verify.
Any advice?
That’s a tough thing to do… and I’m saying that from only a year’s worth of post-college work. Congratulations on the bold step! Working as a contractor is a great idea – it will give you so much flexibility and the chance to flex your brain muscles when you need a break from the little one.