[jaddison]

9-5: people are happy here because there very little pressure (in a typical job) - if you think there's pressure, then you haven't been in the initial stages of consulting or worse, in bootstrapping your startup for the first time.

Consulting: once you get out of the mindset of feeling you always need steady income (getting sporadic client payments, having to follow up with clients, etc), this is actually pretty comfortable. You have a lot of freedom to define your life's activities. Just be sure to charge appropriately and know what you need to live on.

Startups: starting a startup is very different than just working in one; working as an employee (even with equity) in a startup may seem hectic at times, but in the end, everything isn't sitting on your shoulders when all is said and done. Being a founder has the additional burdens of a business - including dealing with incompatible partners/founders. Its easy to walk away when you're an employee - harder when you're a founder.

I've done all three (any two of the above at the same time) and can say that I would be happiest in a functional startup (rather than dysfunctional!) - just be sure to choose your partners well. I'm reasonably happy doing consulting work at the moment, but I don't feel particularly challenged, which is why I'm looking to dive back into the world of startups again.