Take this from someone that left one of those government jobs about a year ago...keep it. The costs of self-employment, which I'm involved in now, are immense. I have no hope for my future...back when I was working, I had something to do, and a group of people around which I could work. It was not the best working environment; I saw people scurrying around to avoid work. What I should have paid attention to was what I could control - my work effort. Instead, I focused on what everyone else wasn't doing. At the end of that short time there, I quit. It was the biggest mistake that I ever made in my life. I'd give anything to turn back time. There's something to be said for being employed, even if it is not exactly what you like doing. And please take this into account - which is certainly something that I knew but did not apply in my own life - it is easier to find a job when you already have a job.