Are You Suited for Independence? Or Not? | I Chose to Return to Being a Company Employee (Part 2)

Introduction

In the first part, I wrote about the time I quit the company I had worked at for 13 years and became a vocational school instructor.

The job of an instructor was very enjoyable and showed me a new world.

However, what became clear through that experience was that "enjoyable work" and "a work style suited to me" are not necessarily the same thing.

This time, I would like to write about what followed.

✦1 | Enjoyable Work and Unstable Income

I truly loved the instructor job.

Talking with students about my field of expertise, creating works together, and watching them grow.

There was a joy there that was different from my previous jobs.

On the other hand, there were unavoidable problems in reality.

Schools have summer and spring breaks.

For students, it is a long vacation, but for me, it meant there were no classes.

If there are no classes,
there is no income.

I could not make a living on work I liked alone.

Faced with that reality, I started doing part-time office work on days when school was closed.

An instructor on weekdays.
A part-time worker when school was on break.

It was not that I disliked the work.

Rather, I was grateful that I had places to work.

But I was always thinking about my life a few months ahead in the corner of my mind.

"Will this income be enough?"
"How many classes will I be in charge of next semester?"
"Will there be work next year just like this?"

Even while doing work I loved, my anxiety about daily life did not disappear.

✦2 | This instability did not suit me

While continuing my work as an instructor, I experienced a "way of working close to self-employment" for the first time.

As a result, things I didn't have to think about when I was a company employee became part of my work one after another.

Thinking about work months in advance.
If I got sick, my income would decrease accordingly.
Preparing for social insurance and retirement funds on my own.
Structuring my life on the premise that income fluctuates.

Of course, there are people who enjoy this.

There are people who like sales itself, and
there are people who find fulfillment in creating their own work.

But I was different.

The biggest factor was that the "state of not being able to predict the future" was more stressful than I had imagined.

Having a fixed monthly income.
Being able to see the schedule to some extent.

For me, that was the foundation that allowed me to focus on my work with peace of mind.

This is not a matter of ability.

It is not that I didn't try hard enough, either.

I think it was simply a matter of compatibility with the way of working.

✦3 | The choice to return to being a company employee

Around that time, thankfully,

I was offered,

"Why don't you come back as a company employee?"

After thinking about it for a while,
I decided to accept the offer.

What was strange was that at that time, I didn't feel like I had "lost" at all.

Some people who have become independent might feel that returning to being a company employee is a failure.

But for me, I had no such feeling.

If anything,

“This was a better fit for me”

—that sense of relief was much greater.

Because I had experienced it once, I was able to make a comparison.

Company employees are secure,
[[phN_open]]self-employed people are free.[[phN_close]]

It is not that simple.

By actually experiencing both, I understood which environment was more comfortable for me and allowed me to perform at my best.

That experience remains an asset to me even now.

✦4 | People Suited for Independence, People Not Suited for It

Through this experience, I have come to think that “there are things you are suited for and things you are not.”

Of course, people grow as they gain experience.

Therefore, it is not a matter of “it is absolutely impossible because you are not suited for it.”

Even so, I do think there is compatibility with how one works.

For example, people who are suited for independence are:

• People who can accept fluctuations in income to some extent
• People who can enjoy sales and creating work
• People who do not mind making decisions on their own
• People who can keep moving even in uncertain situations

I feel that there is such a tendency.

On the other hand, there are also people for whom the way of working as a company employee is suited.

• People who like to produce results as a team
• People who want to demonstrate their expertise in a stable environment
• People who feel more secure when their living foundation is stable
• People who want to focus on the work itself

It is not a matter of which is superior.

It is simply that the skills required are different.

In the world, we often see the phrases "independence equals freedom" and "being a company employee equals stability."

But in reality, independence also comes with responsibilities, and
there is also freedom in being a company employee.

What is important, I believe, is not the public image, but
knowing in what kind of environment you can best demonstrate your strengths.

✦5 | If you are going to become independent in your 40s or 50s, prepare

Recently, more people are considering independence in their 40s and 50s.

I think that in itself is a very good thing.

The experience and expertise gained from aging become significant strengths.

However, on the other hand, the prerequisites are different from those in your 20s or 30s.

The difficulty of finding re-employment.
Changes in physical stamina.
Family circumstances.
Mortgages.
Retirement funds.

The things you need to think about will definitely increase.

That is why I want you to value "preparation" over "momentum" if you are considering independence.

For example,

Securing living expenses for several months or more.
Becoming independent only after creating a state where you earn income as a side job.
Having prospects for continuous work.

Such preparations are not for giving up on your dreams.

They are for taking on the challenge with peace of mind.

The less anxiety you have,
the easier it is for a person to demonstrate their true potential.

That is precisely why I believe that rather than rushing in, setting a foundation first will lead to a way of working that you can continue for a long time.

Summary

I do not regret the experience of quitting my job as a company employee.

Meeting the work of an instructor, and
experiencing a way of working close to self-employment,
both were necessary times in my life.

That is precisely why I want to convey that the choice to return to being a company employee also has value.

Company employee, or
self-employed.

There is no single correct answer.

What is important is to choose a way of working where you can perform at your best with peace of mind.

There are people suited for independence.
There are people who perform at their best in the environment of a company employee.

It is not about which is superior,
but whether it suits you.

If you are currently lost regarding your way of working, please try thinking about it from the perspective of "which one seems like I could continue for a long time" rather than "which one is correct."

That question might become a hint for choosing your future way of working.

Misuzu