[wuliwong]

I got my Ph.D. in physics in 2010, worked for about 1 year in research then took a year to try and build my own startup while collecting unemployment. I didn't successfully get a startup going but I learned enough web development during that time that I have been doing it professionally ever since.

[turc1656]

How were you able to collect unemployment if you decided to leave to try to get a business started?

[Trundle]

He's already answered but just in case we have any other Aussie's reading, we actually have a system that lets you do that called NEIS.

You have to do a short business course—From memory it was one hour a week for 10 weeks or something like that—and then you can collect unemployment while working on your startup for I think a year.

The bar to get in is pretty low. I'm sure that a lot of my class/group were intentionally unemployed and just looking for an easier alternative to pretending to look for work, and they didn't get kicked out. That said the metrics they were tracking to make sure you were progressing were more regular small business focused rather than trying to create the next Google focused. Revenue, customers, etc. That fit what I was doing but might not for you the reader.

[wuliwong]

I got laid off and then made that decision. And I basically just started building websites that I thought would be cool. Trying to "get a startup going" might be giving myself too much credit.

[turc1656]

Ah, that make sense. Incorrect assumption on my part that you decided to leave.

[wuliwong]

I wanted to try something completely on my own and I had done a lot of programming in my physics career so I thought that building a website would make sense. I SEVERELY underestimated the complexity of web development though. :) But I'm glad I did or I probably wouldn't have even tried it.