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IMO it's a mistake to focus on his particular fees, that's what he managed to make for himself. You need to find your own realistic path. For instance I, living

IMO it's a mistake to focus on his particular fees, that's what he managed to make for himself. You need to find your own realistic path. For instance I, living outside of US, will probably never be able to charge $100+ hour my clients, I'm fully aware of that. But no matter who you are, you probably still can push for a little bit more, and that's where Patrick's advices are solid. Often, it's just a matter of asking for more, as simple as that.

putnam 9y ago
Where do you live?
- ivanhoe 9y ago
  In a small city in Croatia, on the coast of Adriatic sea. I moved here for personal reasons as it's a great place for raising a family - but it does put some limits on what types of gigs I can get (remote only) and what fees I can charge. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally fine the way it is, no regrets whatsoever. Also, it obviously depends on the type of consulting that one does. I'm mostly working with startups, helping them with web app architecture and performance, and their budgets are just not as big as when working with well-established corporations.
  - minor3rd 9y ago
    > I'm mostly working with startups, helping them with web app architecture and performance When I read the blog post my first thought was that I would love to do exactly this. I'm working at a startup right now but I'm so bored of the day-to-day and really enjoy architecture/performance tasks. I think I'm going to give consulting a try after I vest a little more stock :)
bajsejohannes 9y ago
There are plenty of places outside of the US where you can charge that rate.
fnbr 9y ago
It's very doable to find remote consulting/freelance work. I'm in a region of Canada where the goal freelance/consulting rates for software engineers are well below $100/hour, and I could regularly find remote consulting work in the US around the $100/hour mark .
- putnam 9y ago
  Are you consulting on one project at a time, or multiple?
  - fnbr 9y ago
    Currently, I'm employed FT. When I was consulting, typically multiple projects. It's necessary (IME) to do so to guarantee you have a steady flow of work. I'd always be looking for a new project midway through the current one.
roel_v 9y ago
If you're in Europe and a programming consultant, you can (and should) charge usd100 and more. Like, double, or triple. Edit: actually, first thing you need to do is stop charging by the hour, and charge by the day, or better, by the week.
- walshemj 9y ago
  Certainty in the UK its normally the day rate that is used - though some non tech companies seem to want to get away with paying straight time (ie what a FTE would get) instead of the contractor rate.
- perl4ever 9y ago
  When I was an employee, I knew my company's clients were charged $150/hr for my work. I also knew my company was switching to offshore workers so they could pay $5/hr. Based on my past experiences, I'm not sure making lots of money is my goal, but I have the nagging feeling that it should be possible, just because it was no secret that people will pay that.
csa 9y ago
It depends on the kind of consulting you do, but this likely either selling yourself short or not framing your skills the correct way. Generally speaking, most CEOs will respond positively to an offer that they put $1 in and get ~$3 out (with a range of possible outcomes around that ~$3). In fact, most smart ones will ask how many $1 bills they can throw at you before this proposition becomes untrue. People who have the kind of combined skill set that 'patio11 has are relatively rare, but they need not be as rare as they are. For many people, all it takes is adopting an appropriate mindset for their work. Location simply doesn't matter unless you are in a place where CEOs don't like money.
patio11 9y ago
Since this is something of a hobbyhorse of mine: You know all my invoices had “Ogaki, Gifu, Japan” on them, right? The only thing you have to do to charge $100 an hour is successfully pitch any firm in the world on paying you that. They exist, in quantity, and substantially all of them are on the same Internet we are.

putnam 9y ago

Where do you live?

ivanhoe 9y ago
In a small city in Croatia, on the coast of Adriatic sea. I moved here for personal reasons as it's a great place for raising a family - but it does put some limits on what types of gigs I can get (remote only) and what fees I can charge. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally fine the way it is, no regrets whatsoever. Also, it obviously depends on the type of consulting that one does. I'm mostly working with startups, helping them with web app architecture and performance, and their budgets are just not as big as when working with well-established corporations.
- minor3rd 9y ago
  > I'm mostly working with startups, helping them with web app architecture and performance When I read the blog post my first thought was that I would love to do exactly this. I'm working at a startup right now but I'm so bored of the day-to-day and really enjoy architecture/performance tasks. I think I'm going to give consulting a try after I vest a little more stock :)

bajsejohannes 9y ago

There are plenty of places outside of the US where you can charge that rate.

fnbr 9y ago

It's very doable to find remote consulting/freelance work. I'm in a region of Canada where the goal freelance/consulting rates for software engineers are well below $100/hour, and I could regularly find remote consulting work in the US around the $100/hour mark .

putnam 9y ago
Are you consulting on one project at a time, or multiple?
- fnbr 9y ago
  Currently, I'm employed FT. When I was consulting, typically multiple projects. It's necessary (IME) to do so to guarantee you have a steady flow of work. I'd always be looking for a new project midway through the current one.

roel_v 9y ago

If you're in Europe and a programming consultant, you can (and should) charge usd100 and more. Like, double, or triple. Edit: actually, first thing you need to do is stop charging by the hour, and charge by the day, or better, by the week.

walshemj 9y ago
Certainty in the UK its normally the day rate that is used - though some non tech companies seem to want to get away with paying straight time (ie what a FTE would get) instead of the contractor rate.
perl4ever 9y ago
When I was an employee, I knew my company's clients were charged $150/hr for my work. I also knew my company was switching to offshore workers so they could pay $5/hr. Based on my past experiences, I'm not sure making lots of money is my goal, but I have the nagging feeling that it should be possible, just because it was no secret that people will pay that.

csa 9y ago

It depends on the kind of consulting you do, but this likely either selling yourself short or not framing your skills the correct way. Generally speaking, most CEOs will respond positively to an offer that they put $1 in and get ~$3 out (with a range of possible outcomes around that ~$3). In fact, most smart ones will ask how many $1 bills they can throw at you before this proposition becomes untrue. People who have the kind of combined skill set that 'patio11 has are relatively rare, but they need not be as rare as they are. For many people, all it takes is adopting an appropriate mindset for their work. Location simply doesn't matter unless you are in a place where CEOs don't like money.

patio11 9y ago

Since this is something of a hobbyhorse of mine: You know all my invoices had “Ogaki, Gifu, Japan” on them, right? The only thing you have to do to charge $100 an hour is successfully pitch any firm in the world on paying you that. They exist, in quantity, and substantially all of them are on the same Internet we are.