Well, congratulations or condolences, take your pick. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
I've only been on my own for five years, but during that time a client talked me into taking a full-time job with them; couldn't live without me, it would be a management job, the ceiling would cave in and money would rain from the sky, etc.
Big mistake! Once I was captive, I got way less respect than as a consultant, and the money never materialized - there was always some excuse, and it was always going to happen "next performance review", even though I got top ratings. I gave them two cycles (too long in retrospect) and I quit and went back on my own. The funny thing is, when I quit they were quite anxious to get as much of my consulting time as possible - at a substantial increase in my hourly rate. So now, they pay me as much as they were as an employee, but I only work for them part-time, and I work from home, with no people to manage and no meetings to go to and no office politics.
Life is Good! I don't know what it would take to get me to go back to work for someone as an employee; I suppose I could be bought for some outrageous sum (in writing this time) but I can't imagine that it will ever happen again. Maybe self-employment requires a certain personality defect to be happy or something.
Best of luck in your new job though - I hope it works out well for you.