Tulloch PriestCo-founder, Gas Engineer Software · Co-founder of Gas Engineer Software

Employed Vs Self Employed - What Should Be Next After Qualifying?

3 Feb 2026 · 0 min

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0:11

Two people debate whether newly qualified professionals should work for someone else first or go straight to self-employment. They argue that traditional employment teaches you things no course can, and gives you a clearer sense of whether you're ready to start your own thing.

Personally, I think that becoming employed first after qualification is probably the best thing to do, mainly because I think starting is probably like starting off their career, it's probably the hardest step once you've become qualified.
Plus there's a limited amount you can actually know, you know, within the time frame of the course.
Yeah, so being able to gain some real-world experience before you can then have the conversation with yourself, okay, right now, is it now the right time to go self-employed?