Looking back...what will I miss?

Sitting here on my lunch break at work, I am thinking about what I will miss about in-house #translation. I must admit that my state of mind has not been particularly helped by a discussion that I have just had with a colleague who was basically insinuating that I was making a huge mistake, ho hum! 

1) Maybe most obviously, I will miss the steady paychecks that arrive in my bank account every month. However, I am telling myself that, these days, no job is ever 100% secure and money is not everything (though it is easy enough to say that when you have it, I will probably be eating my words this time next year)

2) I will also miss my colleagues. If you are grappling with a long stinky sentence, all you have to do is say "Help!" and someone will come up with some fantastic translation that fits perfectly! I hope that I will be able to find some good contacts in the freelancer world but there is nothing like discussing it in person (and enjoying some laughs along the way)

3) One of the joys of working in house is that your customer is only a quick phone call away and is usually very willing and able to help you out with questions. I have not got much experience with what happens if you have questions as a freelancer, but I am guessing it is not as easy as a quick search through Outlook

4) Another thing I will miss about my job (and #Germany in general) is its wonderful attitude to the work-life balance. I am the first to admit that my hours are pretty cushy right now but am perfectly willing to sacrifice more of my time when I break out on my own

5) And finally, I guess I will miss the perks that working at a big company presents. If you are ready to move departments, you can go and do something different. If you want to go and have a baby, you can do that without needing to worry. If you are ill for a long period, you have safety. If you want to take a sabbatical and travel the world or study for a degree in Ancient Chinese Philosophy, you can. This is probably the point that I am trying to forget about the most. Here it is safe, out there it is scary! #inhousetranslation

To bring me out of my slightly negative attitude, here are some things that I will NOT miss!

1) The daily grind, the rat race, whatever you want to call the stressful commute followed by the drudge into the office with thousands of other people dressed in grey and black looking thoroughly fed up with the world

2) Although we do have a certain amount of flexibility, I look forward to being able to structure my time better. Instead of spending that lull before lunch feeling guilty for not being particularly productive, I can go to the shop or to the gym. When I get onto a roll late in the evening, I don't have to worry about breaking my flow to rush off to get the train to cook dinner, go shopping, go to the bank, etc.

3) Having to go to big company motivational events where we hear about how great the company is. In future I look forward to going to events that are interesting to my area of work and provide good networking opportunities.