Did you quit your day Job because of Adsense revenue?

[sid786]

I am a Student, currently in my 20's, looking to work full-time on web thanks to the Adsense revenue. I don't want to get into corporate job because I'll be making peanuts compared to what I make from adsense right now.

I still have 2 more years to finish my education and hopefully, by that time, earnings will shoot up. And from what I've heard, Corporate job sucks. What do you think?

And, just out of curiosity, I'd love to hear your tale of quitting day job because you were making hefty money from adsense.

[indyank]

This is my humble suggestion - You will do well to find yourself a job, if you can.

Never start your career with only google adsense in mind.If you make a small slip, you will have nothing to hang on to.

But if you gain experience, it can very well serve as a saving grace in times of need.Experience counts and is valued a lot.

[sid786]

Experience in corporate job or adsense?

I've been in this website business for almost 3 years now. And I make decent chuck of money.. let's say that my 2 months of earnings are equal to what the software engineers are paid yearly, in my country.

My dream is to set-up my own web development company and diversify the income (adsense network included).

[Karma]

I've been earning money from Adsense for around 5 years and these days make a decent sum too but still work full-time as well.

Here are a couple of scenarios that you might want to consider if you thinking of living from your Adsense income...

Firstly, Google could stop serving Ads on your domain. It has happened to many people before, apparently for no reason. Google offer very little help in terms of support in these instances.

Secondly, and I've experienced this, your earnings are relative to you traffic. Around a year ago traffic suddenly dropped (on a huge scale) for no apparent reason and it took me months until I was back to where I was. Luckily, I work full-time so my wages covered this period.

[explorador]

Diversify.

There is a great thread of how the contrary meant more money but in terms of security, diversifying is the best choice. Again (talking about other discussions taken place here) some experienced webmasters doing great with adsense had their accounts closed without warning. Others had less trouble and their accounts weren't closed but the earnings went to the floor.

Working on your own website is great as it can make you money via adsense. If it fails you can always try something else but it seems nothing converts the same as adsense. Worst case scenario your website gains value anyway and you can still sell it or sell direct advertising, but the numbers are not always the same, might be better, might be worse.

My numbers are not so high to contemplate this idea but still, my full day job allows me to learn more and play with technology I couldn't have on my own (big company). So I have more opportunities this way, that also means contacts and extra work. I've worked on my own before and for a programmer-designer-writer, is very easy to isolate, it depends. I'll say expand your horizons, try to put things on autopilot as much as you can.

[wyweb]

I started out in affiliate marketing several years before adsense rolled out. I had the traffic and after several months of consistent income sufficient to support myself I did quit my day job. I made very, very sure I left in good standing with my employer and that if the bottom ever dropped out of my online income (which I expected it to do any day) there would be room for me to come back to the company. I love taking risks but this one was just too big to not have a workable back-up plan in place. I also had a very patient, loyal girlfriend with a full-time job who would have followed me to the moon if that's where I'd wanted to go.

That was 10 years ago and I haven't looked back yet.

Knock wood

[wyweb]

Exactly explorador. In the 10 years I've been doing this I've learned several things that as far as I'm concerned are carved in stone. You'll hear this over and over again in this forum: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." I can not even begin to emphasize how important this is. If you're depending on adsense income alone.. well, keep your resume polished.

Stay current too. Keep your ear close to the ground and be willing to try different things. The web is littered with explosions that are constantly happening. I mean hell, look at Twitter. The internets evolution is an ongoing process that's taking place even as we speak. Prowl forums. Pick peoples brain if they'll let you. Keep a close eye on what's going on whether you're involved or not. Trust me, it's easy to get complacent when you can pay your bills without lifting a finger. Stay focused.

[LifeinAsia]

My dream is to set-up my own web development company and diversify the income (adsense network included).

If you have no experience in the "corporate" world, how on earth do you expect to be able to run a business?

[Lapizuli]

Committing to any career is a gamble, as far as I can see. I agree that being versatile is important. But I don't see "real jobs" as a fallback anymore.

I think the economy is going through a monumental shift, and the old rules about job experience, job security, and job opportunity don't apply anymore to certain industries. Better parallels can be drawn between now and the craziness before and after the time of the Great Depression.

Just as they were trending toward an expanding car-based economy and new work models, we're trending toward going online (versus working locally), contract work (versus permanent work), and performance-based (rather than credential-based, contact-based, or even experience-based) opportunity.

If I'm right, then at this moment, traditional jobs and self-employment may even be reversed in terms of risk in some fields.

[jetteroheller]

As I started AdSense 2004, independent internet consulatant internet was already my main job.

But the number of new clients wad declining, so I focused full on my web sites.

[Demaestro]

If ad revenue is going to be your primary income then I say diversify... diversify... diversify...

I have seen so many tales of people, they claim for no good reason, have had their accounts wiped.

There are lots of PPC/PPV ad distribution companies... get in league with many of them and increase your points of failure.

Corporate jobs can suck, but so can not being able to pay your bills because of a hiccup in 1 system.

You don't need a real job as a fall back but try to keep busy with other projects in your related field so that if you do need to go job hunting you have some xp outside of school even if it was all contract basis.

I was going to do what you did and as a side gig I took on web development work... now I do almost no ads except on the behalf of some clients and I do well financially with the clients that I was lucky enough to acquire.

I always tell people to go for it, but I always caution to make sure their eggs aren't all in one basket.

[explorador]

Forgot to mention something.

On the corporate work: if you work you get paid. If you work more there are no guarantees you are going to earn more, maybe you will, maybe you won't but you still get paid. Sometimes the market goes down but you still get paid.

On the online world: If you work you get paid. SOMETIMES if you don't work you still get paid (residual income). But sometimes you don't earn too well no matter how much work you do, perhaps you won't earn a dime even if you work. That's the thing with online stuff, trends, algo changes, etc.

Not saying is bad, just telling you as others that no matter how many years you have on your online business you can still find yourself forced to reinvent yourself.

[maximillianos]

I would disagree with most on this thread.

Diversifying your website ad partners does not make sense if Google is the best paying game in town. Use google adsense everywhere you can. Use their text ads, their link units, their banner ads, their search adsense program. This will allow you to maximize your income.

If the adsnese program goes away, no big dal , just move on to the next best paying program. Ad networks are always looking for quality sites to partner with. They are not going to care if you lost your Adsense account. If you are a legit publisher they will take you.

We use to diversify our ad inventory across multiple ad networks. It cost us thousands of dollars a month we realized after consolidating to a all Google partnership.

[ken_b]

Like many (most?) other income sources AdSense income can stop almost instantly, without any warning. Sort of like a "corporate job".

Be as prepared for that as possible. That might mean trying out some other ad brokers and affiliate deals on a limited basis to get a good feel for which ones are a good fit for your site(s). You can probably do that without giving them enough space that they cause any real drop in AdSense income.

My dream is to set-up my own web development company and diversify the income (adsense network included).

Start networking with business people NOW if you haven't already. You have a business, join the local Chamber of commerce etc. Give your potential future customers, a chance to get to know you before they need you. These are also the people who might well refer their other associates and friends to your business in the future.

Join some local face to face networking groups where the people you will eventually want to hire are likely to attend. Get to know the people who you'll want to work with, before you need them. Let them get to know you so when the time comes they'll be ready to jump in and work with you.

.

[nomis5]

I agree with Maximillianos on most things but remember to keep trying alternatives, never give up trying alternatives to Adsense. There are some that pay better but they are rare. Drop the low-paying ones immediately but don't stop looking.

[Swanny007]

My advice to you is to finish your education, and unless you're raking in some serious cash when you're done, you should go out and put in at least 1-2 years at a boring job (related to your education) just so you have some experience on your resume in case the self-employed web thing goes away. But that's another 2 years' away so things might change between now and then anyway.

I did the cubicle job for years. It took me 7.5 years 'til I surpassed my job earnings by enough to warrant quitting my cushy government job.

Probably the most important things to do when you go out on your own (AdSense or whatever) is to:
1. Establish and maintain an emergency fund of about 6 months' living expenses (rent, food, power, etc.)
2. Don't spend every penny you make because you don't know what the future holds
3. Maximize your revenue space, but don't put so many ads on that people don't come back

[indyank]

If ad revenue is going to be your primary income then I say diversify... diversify... diversify...

Exactly..that is what i meant too...

gain experience in whatever your field you are...To start a web development company you will have to learn the nuances of web development. It is not just the technical aspects of web development but you will have to understand how to run a business, how to handle customers and so on...

You may get good money from adsense now and you might be thinking that you could start a web development company with that money.But money is not the only investment to start a business.Adsense might give you the needed financial investment but not the others.

[hannamyluv]

I would recommend taking a corporate job for a few years. Not because of any security or safety net, but because of what you can learn.

While I don't have a corporate job now, every corporate job I have had in the past taught me some very important skills that I use now and that make me more successful on my own.

For example, how to create a proper profit and loss projection, what kinds of things can influence it and how to explain it when your projection don't end up matching what you actually did. A very handy skill to have when negotiating with ad networks (other than adsense) or for planning changes to your sites.

All sorts of things to learn out there. The cool thing about making enough from adsense that you don't need to work is that you can choose what you want to do. All those cool but low paying jobs that your friends can't take because they have to make a "living" are wide open to you.

Then, after a few years (or when the company pisses you off), quit and enjoy yourself.

[mumbles]

If you are making in 2 months what a software engineer makes in a year, and things keep going that way while you finish school, you should have enough money saved in 2 years to do whatever you want.

[maximillianos]

I learned a lot in corporate america. But it was mostly enterprise software that I no longer utilize. Most of my skills I use as a website publisher / business owner now are things I learned on my own on the side while building up my site(s). Big companies don't use LAMP. Many of us small solo shops do use LAMP.

The corporate world paid my bills for years until my side business was ready to take over.

[Pepito]

If you are keeping that rate, that will means that at the time you finish your studies you will earn the equivalent to the money earned for a SW engineer in 12 years.
You can keep 5 months of your income, just in case, and invest in hiring people to help you to expand your site the next two years. After that maybe you will have enough money to retire if you multiply by two your actual earnings.

Good luck.

[sudipdasin]

Wow so much advice, wish I got the same when I started my online business. For the OP I would still say, finding a part-time job along with your online income can hold a bright future for you

[netmeg]

One of the things I've always disliked about AdSense is that it puts a lot of people in business who don't know anything about being in business. Some of them pick it up. A lot don't.

[ken_b]

One of the things I've always disliked about AdSense is that it puts a lot of people in business who don't know anything about being in business.

That's one of the things I've liked most about AdSense.

That "open door" approach has let a lot of people earn anything from some extra cash to a far above average income and live better lives because of that, even though they didn't have a lot of business education or experience.
.

[explorador]

One of the things I've always disliked about AdSense is that it puts a lot of people in business who don't know anything about being in business. Some of them pick it up. A lot don't.

Nice one, I like it. It makes me thing a lot about a lot of things. I've learned A LOT from this forum more than working on Adsense or html.

Back to the OP, yes, I remember it was maximillianos who talked about not diversifying and shared his good experience. I agree, I read the whole thread. What I really think is there is a lot to learn and practice on a corporate job that will be useful in your life that it will be hard to learn on your own. Everybody is diff and every path is diff, but I really think from start it is good to make a good balance. I'm not saying you are like this (OP) just bringing it to the table: some friends I know who started on their own cannot follow... cannot take orders or instructions, they live on the "I'm the boss, no one is boss of mine"... but is very important to develop certain aspects of the personality that when you work only on your own you can easily encapsulate yourself. Anyway, again, Adsense can cut your wins anytime....

[incrediBILL]

What I really think is there is a lot to learn and practice on a corporate job that will be useful in your life that it will be hard to learn on your own.

Yeah, great corporate experience like...

- Having irrational bosses that scream at people and throw stuff around the office when things don't go right

- Working late nights because your boss suddenly wants something done before you go home but doesn't bother to tell you until 4pm, and he's known about this project all day

- Incompetent bosses that actually contribute to the project and make more mistakes than anyone on the team combined

- Sitting in endless meetings listening to mind numbing minutia that never contributes to anything except delaying your progress, resulting in working longer hours thanks to wasting time in the meetings

- Bosses that like to stand over you and watch you work

- Getting asked to work weekends when you don't get paid extra because you're a salaried employee.

- Bosses that want irrational deadlines and don't understand why you can't get a months worth of work done in a week. (see working late nights and weekends)

- Anxious bosses that constantly walk over, or call you, to find out your progress status, which of course you would have been done if the boss didn't keep bothering you

- Having to pick up the slack from incompetent co-workers that are for some mysterious reason the bosses pet and get to slide.

- Regardless of how late you work or how many weekends, still get 'the look' or 'the talk' if you're 5 minutes late back from lunch. All that extra time doesn't matter because those 5 minutes "look bad".

- Sitting there like cattle going to the slaughter watching HR call people to their office that never return.

- Having the company suddenly decide to relocate to new offices, much further away, that add an almost an hour to your morning commute.

Basically, if you want to get stressed out, anxiety, and high blood pressure, you'll love corporate life.

Personally, I'll stick with AdSense.

[explorador]

Working on your own often, yes, (often not always) leads to get the feeling "you are always right" or at least wanting to be right every time, right? ha ha. The world spins... sometimes people need to return to the corporate world after their independent work fails and their personality is the problem as they just won't fit in, they want to rule and tell others what to do because "they know", but not always we can be the boss.

That's not the worst thing, besides a lot of "independent workers" FIT the description you made, here at WebmasterWorld are great examples of that, people that come and shout "Me, I can, I did, I built..." and we all do what we do... we mostly ignore them...

Some complain about the problem of attitude but very often those "some" are the problem itself on their own island, but nobody will tell them... people will just walk away while the guy says "I rule, I'm right ha ha ha I count my money".

Building a business is tricky, but sometimes building parts of the personality involves that feared arena. Working on a corporation is not for everyone, just as working on your own doesn't always work for everyone. Right or wrong I believe it takes to know what is like to be down there to be good (and kind) when you finally are up there.

I guess just like being a webmaster, it wont hurt to learn some of this and that (php, perl, mysql, etc), it is also good to have diff experiences and take the most out of them, even if the experience was not good.

[indyank]

incrediBILL, Every point of yours is very true and valid but it is an experience that you need to get to know how the real world works and in the process you learn how to handle them.I do believe that without those experiences, it will be a nightmare to handle your customers.

If you had jumped on to the adsense bandwagon straight out of college, I am sure you wouldn't have been able to list them :)

Basically, if you want to get stressed out, anxiety, and high blood pressure, you'll love corporate life.

well, you experience those bosses to learn how to be cool in those stressed out situations as you do face them in your own businesses too :)

[vivalasvegas]

An often neglected consequence of working online on your own is the lack of social contact. Some people (me included) find it hard to maintain a rich social life working at home (although I do work at home). This may even become a critical issue over time. Do consider this aspect of working on your own because it's an important one. In other words, it shouldn't be just about how much you make.

[cgiscripts4u]

I do think getting a job for a year or two can't hurt. If you do go it alone, don't get complacent.

I've had adsense for years, most of which I was a typical 'extra cash' earner until one of my sites hit big for some reason. I earned great money. I spent this money, paying debts off and getting work done on house etc but also going out for dinner 4 or 5 nights a week.

I just sat back and let the money roll in. I didn't need to work any more, I was living a comfortable life.

Google then de-indexed my site, it was completely removed from Google. My traffic disappeared and earnings plummeted. I had not done anything for a couple years, development wise, not only does this mean nothing to earn from but it becomes very hard to get 'back into it'.

I have managed to increase my adsense earnings now but nowhere near what they where.

If you have a nice income from Adsense, and you are relying on it as a main income then make sure you put a decent % away each month for the 'rainy day' is it will come.