[gwbas1c]

Been there, done that. Honestly, it depends on your life goals and motivations. In my case, I tried starting a business for the wrong reasons, and realized that I'd rather be an early employee in someone else's startup; or be a co-founder in a very small team.

When I was single, a full time job and side projects were perfectly fine. Once I met my wife, I didn't have a lot of time for side projects. The relationship just took over my nights and weekends. Kids sap up most of the time now.

So, IMO:

#3 if you ever find yourself single again.

#2 before you have kids and a mortgage. This will only work if you have a good business mind or a girlfriend who's willing to help you make ends meet. If she really wants to start a family and be a full-time homemaker, it'll put a bigger strain on your relationship than you realize.

And, honestly, there's nothing wrong with #1. After quitting my job when I was 28 and in a similar situation; then getting a job right before my 30th birthday, what I can say is that carefully choosing your employer is the most important career skill to have in your situation. It takes almost a decade bouncing from jobs to know how to recognize (and stick with) a good situation, how to recognize a bad situation in the interview.

That being said, there's nothing wrong with taking 1-2 months off between jobs!

[jammygit]

What were the wrong reasons?

[gwbas1c]

Everyday I want to get up and have no employment obligation to anyone, and work on whatever I feel is interesting to me at the moment.

I was under the illusion that I could be in that situation merely by founding my own company.

The only way to really do that is to be financially independent, because once someone is paying you to do something, you can't walk away when you get bored.