I quit my job with a baby on the way, 20 months ago. In that time, the economy has tanked, so even if I wanted to go back to work, I wouldn't be able to find one anywhere near my old salary.
Am I sorry? No. I'm still very, very happy I had the guts to take the plunge and do it. The fear of not having a steady paycheck is much worse than the reality. Now that I know that, even if I do get another job, it won't have the same psychological hold over me.
However...
I had worked a lot longer than you have, before I made that plunge. While I wish I had done it earlier, I think that 2.5 years is too early. At 2.5 years into your career, you're still an apprentice. You have a lot that corporate life can still teach you.
Here's what I did.
Every time I felt like you feel, I found another job. I found it before I quit my first job, the safe way. After about 2.5 years, almost like clockwork, I'd feel restless, and cranky with my current status, and go find another job. I learned a lot that way and made a lot of friends.
When you think the time is near for you to take the plunge, do what I did. Say to yourself, "this job that I'm starting today will be my last job. I will not allow myself to quit it to find another job. No matter how much I hate it, I will not trade it for a new job. I will only quit when I'm ready not to have a job at all."
That vow kept me in my last job for an extra year or longer. Time I would ordinarily have just hopped to a new job. Finally, I decided my time was now, and I gave my notice, without even having any concrete plans on what kind of business I was going to build. I just knew that I needed to be free.
To summarize, my advice is to job hop for a few years when you get unhappy, just like non-entrepreneurs to. There's a lot to learn that 2.5 years won't teach you.
I agree that there is certainly much more to learn. However, I feel that running my own few companies over the past 6 years (on the side) has taught me much more (and much more quickly) than employment has to teach. My recent elevator pitch contest wins and entrepreneur of the year award are also good motivation for me to go ahead and take the plunge. I think it's time for me to have as much confidence in myself as others seem to have.
OK. That's fine. I wasn't really thinking about learning business things. I was thinking about learning engineering things, since you said you were ME and EE. Or are you going to bail on all that knowledge and just do software? If not, how many trips to China has your company sent you on? None? Your next one will. It's truly amazing to go over there and learn what really motivated and organized people can accomplish (with $100 per week wages)
How many times have the products you designed shown up on store shelves in multiple countries? Every country has different regulations you have to conform to, and knowing what those are will come in handy for your own company. Stay with a big company a while to learn the hoops to jump through to get your compliance certifications in Japan, EU, Canada, Australia, etc.
Ah yes, very good point. Only been overseas a couple times. Though some of the designs I've worked on have probably ended up in the very car you're driving. I've been in the industry for about 6 years total now (on and off, so really maybe 3.5 years solid).
I don't think you can ever bail on all the knowledge you've acquired, but it can easily be applied to other areas outside of engineering.
It sounds like you definitely know your stuff and continue to enjoy the passion for engineering that I lost a while back. I'd much rather depend on products designed by someone with your enthusiasm than those designed by the majority of people I know who are just going through the motions. Good luck in your career!
Am I sorry? No. I'm still very, very happy I had the guts to take the plunge and do it. The fear of not having a steady paycheck is much worse than the reality. Now that I know that, even if I do get another job, it won't have the same psychological hold over me.
However...
I had worked a lot longer than you have, before I made that plunge. While I wish I had done it earlier, I think that 2.5 years is too early. At 2.5 years into your career, you're still an apprentice. You have a lot that corporate life can still teach you.
Here's what I did.
Every time I felt like you feel, I found another job. I found it before I quit my first job, the safe way. After about 2.5 years, almost like clockwork, I'd feel restless, and cranky with my current status, and go find another job. I learned a lot that way and made a lot of friends.
When you think the time is near for you to take the plunge, do what I did. Say to yourself, "this job that I'm starting today will be my last job. I will not allow myself to quit it to find another job. No matter how much I hate it, I will not trade it for a new job. I will only quit when I'm ready not to have a job at all."
That vow kept me in my last job for an extra year or longer. Time I would ordinarily have just hopped to a new job. Finally, I decided my time was now, and I gave my notice, without even having any concrete plans on what kind of business I was going to build. I just knew that I needed to be free.
To summarize, my advice is to job hop for a few years when you get unhappy, just like non-entrepreneurs to. There's a lot to learn that 2.5 years won't teach you.