I am 22 and a recent graduate from college with a degree in graphic design. I also have self taught programming experience. I have been employed as a paid intern for the last two months for a local web design company that started their business this year. They don't have an office, so I've been working from home. I've never been employed before, so this is new for me. They say that there is a large room for growth for me and the company.
When I inquired of this job, the posting said they were looking for college students, college grads, and freelancers.
I am considering starting my own business while I'm interning for them.
Is this generally a bad idea?
Would this cause tension?
What are the good and bad consequences of doing this?
One of the reasons is because I haven't been getting paid a whole lot (I get paid per project completed. I could be getting at least $500 for projects I've been doing, but only getting paid $75 - $125 per project) and the other reason is because I have a lot of ideas of implementing flash and other creative things, but this company is not quite doing this with their projects.
I'm waiting patiently to see whether they'll hire me as an actual employee and give me decent pay, but I'm starting to doubt that. I like the company. I like the people. They let me take over whole website projects on my own, and I get to work from home. I initially took it for the learning experience and said that getting the work experience under my belt is more important than the pay. But now that page is starting to turn, and I need to start focusing on supporting myself financially. I was thinking of getting a second job in an unrelated field, but why should I do that if I can potentially get payed well in my own field? I think I can get paid more and do some great projects if I'm also working for myself with my own clients. (I've already made my own price listing, and started typing up terms and agreements.)
I have to admit, if I start my own business, I may potentially let go of this company, if there's not much growth improvement.
What should I do?