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Is there anyone here who actually prefers to work for someone else?

M

manlymatt83

Lifer
Everyone always says do what makes you happy if you can. Work at a job that makes you happy.

If given the opportunity, is there anyone here who would prefer to work for someone else over running their own company if they had the option to do either?
 
I bet there are some. Working for somebody else has less pressure because you don't have to make as many decisions.

I know a few people who are becoming physicians assistants because they are afraid of being a doctor and having to be the top decision maker.
 
i don't know. i've never done and i highly doubt i have the knowledge to do it. i suck at anything financial and legal - it might as well be a foreign language to me.
 
Most people are not cut out for running their own business. My wife is a serial entrepreneur and it is in her genetic makeup to run her own company. Personally, I don't think it would suit me at all. I have been in positions with tremendous autonomy and responsibility, but I always like knowing that there is someone I can go to for support, advice or even plain old passing of the buck. The other aspect that most people overlook is that succesfully working for yourself usually involves 10x the effort, time and sacrifice.
 
Originally posted by: Mwilding
Most people are not cut out for running their own business. My wife is a serial entrepreneur and it is in her genetic makeup to run her own company. Personally, I don't think it would suit me at all. I have been in positions with tremendous autonomy and responsibility, but I always like knowing that there is someone I can go to for support, advice or even plain old passing of the buck. The other aspect that most people overlook is that succesfully working for yourself usually involves 10x the effort, time and sacrifice.
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I have to agree with you. After observing successfull business owners, I've notied they all possess certain characteristics. One one which is the ability to take risks with ease. I would like own my own business at some point in my life, maybe a small convenience or liquor store, but I'm certain I lack that risk-taking-optimism characteristic that I described. Maybe it's my school/career, or perhaps it's just a generally conservative personality, but I approach all choices/decisions involving mild risk with extreme caution.
 
Me!
I have and still do freelance work (a year of being self employeed doing it before I decided to get a "job"). I find myself happier working for someone else, I don't have a care in the world at work cause I do what I was hired to do and don't worry about anything else. My work schedule isn't much different then when I worked for myself anyways so the biggest plus for most hasn't changed really for me so that probably is a partial reason why I prefer working for someone else.
 
Originally posted by: mjuszczak
Everyone always says do what makes you happy if you can. Work at a job that makes you happy.

If given the opportunity, is there anyone here who would prefer to work for someone else over running their own company if they had the option to do either?
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Your question is interesting, but I think you are assuming that everyone already has a winning business idea in their head, and that the only thing keeping them from pursuing it is the fear of losing a steady paycheck.

What if we don't have a winning business idea already? What if the field we work in has such high barriers to entry that starting a new venture is virtually impossible?

Also don't discount the fact that a very high number of businesses eventually end up failing.

I have wondered what it would be like to run a business, but I just don't have a winning idea, and my industry has extremely high barriers to entry. It's not like all these web 2.0/software companies where all you need is a PC, an internet connection, and some basic software to get started.

Basically, I am not opposed to the idea of working for myself. It's just that I don't even know where to begin. You need a solid idea to get started, and I don't have one.
 
Originally posted by: djheater
I prefer to do my job and let other people handle the beauracratic aspects of business.
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This, and I don't believe I could maintain a high enough level of self-motivation to be in charge all the time. I think middle management is a good spot for me - in control, but able to defer issues when I can't handle it.
 
I completely prefer working for someone else. I.E., not self-employed.

I don't want to be self-employed for the same reason I don't want to be in Sales; I'd be "on commission" all the time. I did that once and hated it. It was feast or famine...usually famine. 🙁

I like the security of a steady paycheck that's always going to be the same amount. I like stability.

I'll throw this in for the hell of it. I hate working for a woman. I don't currently (well, except my wife...) but I have in the past and it was horrible.

With men, you always know where you stand. "George" either hates your guts, likes you or couldn't care less about you. Easy. Predictable. That way every day.

With "Georgette" it's always a roulette wheel of emotions as predictable as the weather. And that goes for whether the woman was a $40K/year office manager or a $200K/year district manager. Blech!
 
I basically agree with what everyone has said above, i.e. I do not mind working for others and probably would suck at being my own boss (unless my job description was "Lottery Winner").

MotionMan
 
I'll be my own boss some day. But it will be with some trepidation.

I like being the William Riker. I like the power of a high position, but I also want to still lead the away mission while the captain fills out paperwork and deals with the beaurocrats.
 
I enjoy not having a bunch of responsibility. Now if you said I need to run a business of doing nothing all day while getting paid a shitload of money, i'd be all over that.
 
It all comes down to whether or not you're paid enough to do the extra work. If you're compensated for it, you'll work for yourself. That includes working for little money in the hopes that a business will get off the ground so you can either sell it or make it profitable.

Those who work in corporate america either want to make the money or work less hours and have less responsibility.
 
I couldn't work for myself. Every time I called in sick, I'd know I was lying...and the boss would always be a fucking asshole.

I always enjoyed going home at night and not having to give a shit about the business until my shift started the next day. NO unpaid overtime, NO taking work home, NO extra stress from the boss(es) over leaving work undone at the end of the shift.

I don't know how salary slaves do it.
 
I might prefer to not work for myself if for nothing other than business owners usually work a lot of hours, much more than the average worker, probably for quite a few years too. But if the hours required were more similar or I liked the work enough that the hours didn't matter, I think I'd rather work for myself. The decisions made with that would be very tough though.
 
I would NEVER run a business. Ever. I'll take jobs for pay on my own, but I refuse to call it a company and go through all the hassle. I have no interest in working, I'd much rather devote my life to learning, travel, etc. However since I have to I'd MUCH rather just collect a paycheck than have to be a boss.
 
Look around your current work place, do you want to be responsible for all these freaking bozo's you work with? I think not.
 
I really like my job and would hate management.

I'd be better at being an NCOIC. I wouldn't make the big decisions, just get told what needs to be done, when it needs to be done by, and what I have to work with. I'd assemble a team and take on a technical lead type role. Elbow deep in work, but still able to move around and help where needed.
 
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