>>I'm interested to hear stories from consultants about when they realized the time was right to go out on their own. What were the major factors in your decision? What would you have done differently? How did you approach it?
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>I had a steady job with the SCSO for 31 years, and I did consulting on the outside too. I loved being a cop, and I had the good fortune of becoming a nerd too. I started on an Apple in 1980, then in '86 moved to the pc environment and found a thing called dBaseiii. I attended a crime analysis class in Florida and a guy showed me this thing called Foxbase - hooked! I felt the need for speed and I never looked back.
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>After retiring from the SCSO, I did consulting for a year or two. The second year, I was a consultant with the MPD until the job of Systems Manager for the RTCC opened up, and I hired in full time. The full time gig pays well, and has benefits, which is nice. I love what I do at the MPD and the people there appreciate me, from the director on down. I have been overly blessed, because I don't really work. What I do is have fun creating software that helps catch criminals and helps keep citizens informed of crime in their neighborhood. So, for me, consulting was okay, but if you can find a niche, that pays well, and that isn't work, you'll do well, whether it's in a consulting gig or as an employee.
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>Another thought on being a consultant is that there will be politics in any job you have. Many times people in the corporate world are just as clueless as anyone. I worked with one company, which is a world-wide company, and it was amusing to watch the politics in action. Their rules and regulations cost that company thousands more dollars on the project than it should, but it was their money. What should have cost them 10-15k wound up costing over 35k, and forced me to fly to their facility numerous times.
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>Good luck in your search for Nirvana!

Oh, I've found Nirvana. I'm listening to Lithium right now...