When you’re looking for a career to get started in (or even to change to after doing something else for years), you’ll be presented with two choices – the first is to hunt for a job working for someone else, and the second is to start your own business. Both have their pros and cons, and neither should be rushed into, especially if you’re not sure which option is going to be best for you now and in the future. 

One of the best things you can do if you’re having trouble making a decision regarding whether you should get a job or start a business is to list out the good and bad of each option. When you do that, you’ll instantly be able to see which one makes more sense and appeals to you more, helping you pick a path to go down. You’ll waste less time, feel more confident, and you’ll be able to set out some goals to work towards as well. With that in mind, read on to find out more about each option so you can make a start on this for yourself. 

The Pros Of Getting A Job 

We’ll start with the positive things that come about when you get a job and work for someone else, as this is likely to be the first option that will come to mind. Knowing these benefits should give you a good idea about what you can expect when you have a boss rather than being your own boss.

Steady Income

One of the biggest benefits of getting a job rather than working for yourself and being self-employed is that you’ll have a steady income. Whatever it is you’re getting paid (which is something we’ll discuss later on), you can rely on getting your money every week, month, or whatever the payment schedule is. 

Financial Security 

What we’ve mentioned above is one kind of financial security, but there’s more to it than that. In a lot of workplaces, you’ll not only receive a regular paycheck, but you’ll also be able to have health insurance, a pension, paid time off (whether you’re on vacation or sick), and so on. 

When you have these perks, you’ll be able to enjoy much better financial security because whatever happens, you’ll still get paid – at least a lot of the time. Of course, it will depend on your contract and where you’re working, so it’s wise to check this out before you apply for a job (or at least before you accept one) just to be sure. 

Lower Risk 

When you’re in employment, you’ll usually find there’s a lot less risk – from all areas – compared to starting your own business. To begin with, it shouldn’t cost you anything to have a job (barring your commute, of course, if you have one), plus you’ll never have to accept any liability for problems or mistakes that the business you’re working for makes. 

Professional Development 

In a lot of businesses, employees are given all kinds of different opportunities to learn more and improve their skills – employers will often organize extensive and ongoing training for their workers because it helps make the business run more smoothly and keeps the employees happy and focused. 

Work-Life Balance 

If you work for someone else, you’ll usually have set hours to work (although you might be able to choose to work overtime), and you won’t have to think about work when you’re not there, giving you the perfect opportunity to have an excellent work-life balance. 

The Cons Of Getting A Job

Next, we’ll look at the downside of getting a job, so you can see all sides to the story. 

Limited Income Potential 

Although you’ll get a stable income from having a job, you’ll also usually come up against a limit when it comes to your salary, and pay increases will often be small ones, if you get them at all. 

Limited Control

When you work for someone else, you’ll always have to do what that person asks you to do, so you’ll have limited control over your daily tasks, and even how you do them. It might be that you’re sure you have a better way of doing a job than the way you’ve been told to do it, and that can be frustrating, especially if your employer won’t listen. 

You might even have limited control over your career as a whole; if you’re working for someone else, no matter what you do or how hard you work, it will always be in their hands as to what happens next and how far you can go. 

Less Freedom 

Jobs can be truly demanding, and you’ll have to work set hours, possibly in a set location. This means it can be hard to have the freedom you want, and it might even cause problems with your work-life balance – this will depend on the job itself and the hours you’re asked to work and it won’t always be the case, but it’s certainly worth mentioning. 

Job Insecurity 

No job is ever entirely one hundred percent secure, even when you’re working for a large company. When you work for someone else, you might find you lose your job due to all kinds of unexpected events, such as an economic downturn, business downsizing, lack of sales, changes in the industry, and much more. 

Pros Of Starting A Business 

Now let’s look at the other side of the coin. 

Unlimited Earning Potential

Running your own business offers you the best way to get unlimited income – it’s down to you to make your business as successful as possible, but there’s no cap on your earnings, and the sky really is the limit when you are the boss and you’re in control. 

Control

Speaking of control, this is another reason that starting your own business can be a good idea. When you’re a business owner, you’ll be able to make all the decisions, meaning you can choose the ideal products, services, and software, such as electrical contractor software, to use. You can take your business in the direction you want it to go in, and not have to answer to anyone. 

Build A Legacy 

Another reason why people love to run their own businesses is that they can create a legacy for the future. When you’ve got a successful business, you can be sure that you’ll leave something behind you when you go, perhaps even having family members take over the business on your behalf. This kind of legacy is something to be proud of, and it’s an excellent reason to start a business. 

Cons Of Starting A Business 

Of course, it’s best to look at the negatives as well. 

Financial Risk 

Starting a business will usually involve some kind of financial risk because you’ll have to invest some money into the company if you want to get it off the ground. This could be a loan, your savings, investments, and so on, but the thing to remember is that there’s no guarantee you’ll get that money back – if your business fails, you’ll lose the money. 

Uncertainty

Starting your own business might be possible, but are you happy to live with uncertainty? You’ll never know when you’ll be paid or how much might come in, making planning your personal finances difficult, plus you won’t know if you’ll even be successful. 

Workload 

If you’re a business owner, it’s very unlikely you’ll be able to shut off entirely; you’ll always have work on your mind, and the hours are likely to be long ones, especially at the start. This workload can be overwhelming, and you might even run the risk of burnout. At the very least, your work-life balance is going to be negatively affected in the short term and potentially for a long time to come.