What you give up and what you gain when you leave the 9-to-5 grind for the adventure of casual day, every day.

If you've been tempted to abandon your normal-formal gig by the succubus of stock options, constant casual days, and calling more of your own shots, you're certainly not alone. People bail their jobs at established companies all the time. But why they do it is more interesting than how often.

"We're a more mobile society," says Martin Yate, author of the Knock 'Em Dead series of career advisement books. "We change jobs every four years, and change careers three or more times." He says that the goal of the work ethic has changed: Workers no longer see their loyalty rewarded with lifetime employ, so their focus has become to excel in the short term, and use those small successes to move on.

And corporate culture has changed in tandem, offering big bonuses but small opportunity for a lasting relationship. "If you're in any company in three years and you haven't had dramatic promotions or raises," Yates says, "you're either a genetic imbecile or you've been categorised, stereotyped, and pigeonholed."

Internet evolution
"The Internet and dot-coms have changed how we do business," Yate says. "These are the companies that have the opportunities." It's like a lottery ticket. With a big corporation, you have a job. But at a small company with stock, you have a chance to be a millionaire, Yate explains. "It's a very real dream."

And startups, taking advantage of this entrepreneurial epoch, know that they can lure top talent despite meager wages by dangling the stock options. Yate warns that even if your options do pan out, though, it's not immediate gratification. "Wealth isn't overnight," he says. "It's lots of blood, sweat, and tears. It's not suited to everyone."

Other issues
Besides the hard work for delayed (and sometimes nonexistent) payoff, the startup environment can be challenging in other ways. There is a lack of stability at many, as not all will be successful. Health benefits are generally not as robust. Generally, the gamble is more appealing for workers who haven't yet settled into the house, car payment, and childcare routine, says Yate.

Technologists' tolerance for risk and insecurity determines whether or not they make the jump. "The world of startups, especially in the dot-com world, are volatile," Yate says. "This whole idea is based on 'We'll try to make money this way.' No one has really nailed the way to make money on the Internet yet."

It's different right down to the culture - a startup in a garage or warehouse is very different from IBM in terms of management, hours, and personnel. To transition from smooth, hushed cube existence to the chaotic rambunctiousness more typical of a startup can be a great shock to an assimilated worker. Fortunately, if startups don't agree with you, Yate says that you can usually take your dot-com experience back to the corporate grind and not miss a beat because large companies frequently value your resultant Internet savvy.

But if you want to stay with the fast paced world of startups, there's plenty of room. The dot-com business revolution will not go away for the moment, Yates predicts. "Some people will get left behind," he says, "particularly people over the age of 40 and 50 who are not adapted. But a lot of these people, savvy men and women, can reinvent themselves, can go out and start their own companies."

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