I feel this! I have run my own one man contracting shop for about half of my career, in two different stints.
I loved:
* the flexibility
* getting paid for every hour I worked (I billed by the hour)
* the freedom to choose clients
* having more than one made me feel more stable
* how close it kept me to the business problem space
* the ability to take time off
* the distance: I could roll my eyes and say "at least I'm getting paid for this BS" when there was political BS
However, after time I joined a team because:
* PTO is quite nice
* Insurance (in America) is better in general for employees
* it was great to be part of a team
* the ability to specialize in a way that is difficult as a contractor (I can be further away from direct revenue generation or product creation)
Highly recommend everyone tries this out as you'll have a much greater appreciation for all the components of a business when you are doing them yourself (or are responsible for them).
I loved:
* the flexibility
* getting paid for every hour I worked (I billed by the hour)
* the freedom to choose clients
* having more than one made me feel more stable
* how close it kept me to the business problem space
* the ability to take time off
* the distance: I could roll my eyes and say "at least I'm getting paid for this BS" when there was political BS
However, after time I joined a team because:
* PTO is quite nice
* Insurance (in America) is better in general for employees
* it was great to be part of a team
* the ability to specialize in a way that is difficult as a contractor (I can be further away from direct revenue generation or product creation)
Highly recommend everyone tries this out as you'll have a much greater appreciation for all the components of a business when you are doing them yourself (or are responsible for them).