Over the last twenty-something years I’ve had several different jobs and I’ve finally reached a conclusion that’s been coming for a l-o-n-g time. I don’t like having a job.

I went for about three years being self-employed — I was a graphic designer — and I loved the freedom of setting my own hours, working with a variety of clients and problem-solving on my own. But I found the ups & downs of a freelance income a great challenge, and eventually went back to a full-time job.

Some years have passed, and they’ve included a move overseas (of which more in another post perhaps) and in many ways I now have the best of both worlds. I work from home, telecommuting to a job in New York, and to a great extent I set my own hours. Much of the work is quite rewarding, and the people I work with are very nice. At least, they seem that way on the phone and via email … I’ve never actually met any of them in person, although I’ve been with this company almost two years. The chap who hired me also telecommutes, but we rarely if ever see each other now since we live in different towns; we work on completely separate accounts, and only touch base online every couple of months to say hi.

But the truth is, as nice as my situation is right now, I still yearn for a life of self-employment. I’m working hard to open up a variety of income streams in order to get a little more financial stability in case my job should go away. Times have changed, and the concept of job security no longer makes sense in the way it did for my parent’s generation. Very few of my friends have stuck with long-term jobs; between mergers, down-sizing, and career changes, none of them have illusions about retiring after 40 years with a gold watch.
When you boil it down, the real answer is this: Job is a Four Letter Word because with a job, you aren’t in control. Working independently, with a variety of opportunities to create income, you have freedom. And that’s everything.