Heineken my friend. 

@PixelsAway:

Your comparison and conclusions are somewhat biased ...

Marek,
I tried to make a very simplified business plan, very simplified because I don't know the real data of the PO. I do not even know where he lives, in USA, China, Greece, Germany? No matter where he lives, he has to make his business plan based on his real data, even if the result does not look like he or you want it. Otherwise it would be self-deception.

Taxes, health insurance, retirement, investments need also be paid from a job salary even if employer covers something here, so you are not comparing the same incomes.

If the PO would live in Germany, he would have the money of his full time job pay check for his private expenses. Taxes, health insurance, retirement have been payed before he gets his check. Investments of the employer are not payed by the employees, I think so it is in USA too.

I think that "Office, car and such things" are already included in expenses, so you may count them twice.

These are the recurring costs for the business as a photographer, i. e. salaries for models or assistants, the fuel for the car he uses as a photographer, rental costs, electricity costs and heating costs for the studio. I didn't count them twice, these are no private expenses. (Let me tell you, my wife wouldn't like it, if I would pay costs of my business from the money, that is reserved for the private expenses.)

OP can expect growth of earnings after switching to full time.

He is not limited to microstock. He can expand as a photographer or artist.

Maybe, maybe not. Read the above posts, look at Greece, Italy or Spain and then assess the risk.

I have only given a framework in which the real facts, data and requests must be entered in order to calculate the risk in a business. It's the job of the PO to assess his risk in the international microstock business, not mine nor yours.

ingwio

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@Poncke:
Beck's