I think that's crucial. I also worked for a huge software company for a couple of years before striking out on my own and the experience was worth it just to satisfy my curiosity about it, alone. The knowledge of what it is like and resulting lack of second guessing is valuable.
Lastly, I think this sort of testing, if you will, is worth doing in general. There were a couple of things I was really curious about trying as a freelancer. Each time, even when it didn't pan out was invaluable in terms of getting to know my own motivations more and refining what I liked, was good at and what I didn't. Sometimes you think you love something but you really don't know until you do it. You might like only parts of it but its worth doing it to learn that.
Lastly, I think this sort of testing, if you will, is worth doing in general. There were a couple of things I was really curious about trying as a freelancer. Each time, even when it didn't pan out was invaluable in terms of getting to know my own motivations more and refining what I liked, was good at and what I didn't. Sometimes you think you love something but you really don't know until you do it. You might like only parts of it but its worth doing it to learn that.