One of the biggest problems with being friends with many online entrepreneurs is that you are forced to see many of them enjoy self-employment. Over the past two years, I have lost count how many of my online friends have quit their day job and did their own thing online. This is a problem because it makes it much more difficult to get up and everyday and go into the office.

My day job has been quite stressful the past month. Our organization is trying to grow as fast as possible, despite already being short-staffed. This type of environment is very exciting to be a part of because who wants to do the same ol’ thing day after day? But, it comes with its downsides–foremost among those downsides is the increased stress and workload. Despite the bad things, there are many advantages of having a day job.

Stable Income

One of the best things about working for someone else is knowing how much you will make each and every week (unless you work on commission of course). I get paid every two weeks and I can expect the same amount each and every pay period. It’s nice to not lose sleep over whether I will make more or less money next month. While this may put a ceiling on my income, I can accept that for the time being.

Office to Work In

While working from home occasionally is nice, I do enjoy getting out of the house. I work at a serviced office, meaning that there is someone there acting as the receptionist. They receive the mail, sort it, and deliver it to our office. We also have a full kitchen with free coffee and hot chocolate. Since I don’t drink coffee, I’m an avid hot chocolate drinker. I have to get my money’s worth, right?

Solid Work Experience

While I don’t think that you should ever do anything based on how it looks on your resume, there are obvious benefits of working for another company – if you are going to try and advance your career. Future employers will want to see a proven success record. They want to know that you have what it takes to be part of a team and that you have some of the basics of working for someone else down. While there are benefits of being a self-starter and running your own business, I’d imagine these people will have trouble reporting to someone else later in life. It’s not easy going from being your own boss to having one.

There is not one way to build your career. While there are more opportunities to work for yourself today, that does not mean this is the right choice for you. For me personally, it will always be something that I consider, but for the time being, I am happy where I am and it’s nice to keep my options open right now.