It only lasts about 6 months. Then it continues in spurts. After some years, you're basically defined by what you're doing, not that you used to be a student at X or employee at X.

In general, you will need to find like-minded individuals who have started their own businesses, regardless of field or age.

At the same time, you do want to meet people like you (in person) even for short bursts of time. Not just older adults who have had their own business, but young people your age also cutting their own path.

In a few years, you will find that many naysayers will have lost their jobs, swapped careers, or switched majors during the several years they've been telling you to get a job. Only then will they realize that you're not doing this to avoid work, but to ensure work. Employees who don't like their jobs will feel you should suffer, too. Employees who are happy with what they're doing won't tell you to get a job in a negative tone. Instead, they'll be impressed and tell you to keep at it.

Unfortunately, no one has ever needed to ask me this question. I grew up poor and started working at a gas station straight out of high school. About a year after that I finally landed a job as a web developer, and I've been able to do that ever since. I've never really been without a "real" job.

One of my friends, however, once answered, "when the trust fund runs out."

Like you I grew up poor, and I don't want to say it's good experience, but I think it definitly gives you a better mindset on life. I work on a computer all day, but on the week-ends I love to get out and do physical labor.. there's nothing like the feeling of blisters on your hands from a hard days work.

and the whole "when the trust fund runs out" I think I'm gonna start using that line. :)

"You mean one like yours?"

"When I lose my fake one."

"When I've run out of real things to really do."

"When the gun jams three times in a row, the rope breaks, and I discover I'm immune to cyanide."

Answer by "When will you?", then do a "tsc tsc tsc" sound with that "I feel so pity for you" face and finish with a long sigh. It usually disturbs them enough to send them into coma-like contemplative state while trying to understand what you meant.

I get it pretty rarely.

My folks are both entrepreneurs themselves, and have been running their own business or contracting as long as I can remember, so I definitely don't get it from them.

My girlfriend is of a distinctly less entrepreneurial bent, and occasionally gets frustrated, since I work such long hours. She works for a company that demands a lot (starts with G and ends with oogle), and she escapes as fast as she can at the end of the day, and so me being intent on my work when she leaves in the morning (or sleeping off a late night) and well past when she arrives home at night bugs her. So, given that I don't want to inspire jealousy, or poke fun, or whatever, my answer is generally, "I'm sorry. It's just the way I am. I'll take some time off this weekend."

I have a real job and it looks like this..... (insert your job tasks here)

i find it funny, because as i write this response, i am in a cafe, working on a consulting project, i think this is as close as i will get to a real job, until i have a huge company to run.

I was hopping to hear some really good ones, so far we have had a few serious responses, and no one has really had an over the top response.

I already have a real job, the fact it does not suck does not make it less real.

The truth is that those people deeply envy you. Just smile and say " I am alright now"

What's a job? .....lol

I get paid for having fun, learning new tricks and meeting kick ass people. where else can you do that.

I seldom get asked this question. Its more of "You need to get a job". lol. I just laugh.

"When all else fails" seems like a decent answer they should understand.

I'm an old fart (42) who's been working for myself in various capacities for 20 years. I find there are two people that ask the question.

1) The jealous/conformist. They are asking you why you are not participating in the rest of the system as they understand it. A polite smile (as you would give an idiot or child) and a "So far things are going really well. I find I don't really need a regular job" works, because it lets them feel like they know what a "regular" job is an reinforces their value system. It also makes them even more jealous, and that's a nice benefit.

2) People who just don't understand. My mom and stepdad fall into this category. They don't mean anything -- they simply have no concept of how a person could exist without working for some other organization. I've been working on my parents for the entire 20 years, to little effect. With these people, just be patient. An 80-year-old without a computer is not going to understand Web 2.0 no matter what. So it's not like even if you had a "job" they would even understand then. To them, you'll probably always be sitting around playing pong or watching Star Trek TOS and having money for some strange reason.

"why would I want that?"

I don't want a job

"hopefully never"