The only real job security is to have marketable skills. Eternal perfect job security is extremely rare in the USA—I can’t think of anyone but tenured professors who have that. If you work at a startup, the startup could go under. If you work at a big firm, there could be layoffs. Etc.
One difference between being an employee vs being a grant recipient/independent contractor is that employees get unemployment insurance in the US, while contractors don’t (with the exception being the expanded pandemic unemployment benefits in 2020). While it’s true that there’s no such thing as perfect job security, you do get more of a built-in cushion as an employee.
One difference between being an employee vs being a grant recipient/independent contractor is that employees get unemployment insurance in the US, while contractors don’t (with the exception being the expanded pandemic unemployment benefits in 2020). While it’s true that there’s no such thing as perfect job security, you do get more of a built-in cushion as an employee.