Since you have 2 clients lined up, I assume you are working direct and not through an agency. If you are in the US, $150K 1099 will probably end up being less t

Since you have 2 clients lined up, I assume you are working direct and not through an agency. If you are in the US, $150K 1099 will probably end up being less than $100K W2 (working for an employer) situation. Here’s some data points: 1099 status means you pay all of the SS/FICA (~15%) deduction instead of half you pay as an employee. Health insurance costs are insane and are getting worse. My health insurance is going from $800/mo to $1600/mo next month for 2 people. My bottom of the line health insurance will have ~$10K deductible next year if I keep the same plan. If your wife/husband has health insurance through work, the situation is a lot easier. You can only charge for work you do for the client. Printer died? You can’t charge for the time it takes going to OfficeMax and getting another. I work about 5 billable hours a day. You will get paid for a lot less hours than you spend in the office. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you will get paid for 2000 hours a year. When the contract ends you stop getting paid until you line up another gig. Being a “man of leisure” as I call it, can cut into you income a lot. Contracting involves assuming lots of risk and you need to charge for assuming that risk. I am absolutely not trying to scare you out of contracting but you do probably need to recalibrate your costs and bill accordingly. You should bill at least $100/hr. As for the “not having a boss” thing; it depends on your attitude. Like a lawyer, I provide a service to my clients. I dont think a lawyer feels like his clients are his bosses and I don’t either. It’s an attitude thing. Picking good clients is a good skill to develop. Raise your prices and you’ll get better clients.