3 ms·

Freelance Pricing: How does that work?

3 points by rtisdale 8y ago

rtisdale 8y ago
Hey everyone, author here. I wrote this article after spending a lot of time trying to figure out how I should charge for my services as a freelancer and was unable to find anything else that fit my needs. I recently made some corrections to my math thanks to a suggestion from a Hackaday user (It's a good thing I'm not a freelance mathematician :P). If you see any other issues, don't hesitate to let me know :). Side note: On the off chance you have an IPv6 only address with no IPv4 gateway, my website is not currently IPv6 compatible (Thanks to Hackernews reader Raul for reporting this). I've raised a request with my host and this will hopefully be fixed by the end of the year.
scarface74 8y ago
I don't have any problem with the math, just the anecdotal reality of the situation. When I started looking for another job in my local area about three months ago, I wanted to contract thinking I could make more money. I'm covered for benefits under my wife so I didn't factor that in. My "minimum salary" was $135K a year. As a W2 contractor (meaning the employment agency pays the employers half of Medicare and Social Security), and considering a 1760 hour work year: 2080 hours a year -80 hours federal holidays - 120 hours paid time off - 120 hours between gigs 1760 hours would be about $77 hour as W2 or around $84 hour Corp to Corp. Yes companies are paying at least $90-$100 an hour to recruiting firms but once they take their cut, it's hard to net the amount I wanted. If I don't go through a recruiting firm, I'm left hustling for gigs, competing with people who will work for a lot cheaper and I would have a lot more down time. On the other hand, going through the same recruiters, it was relatively easy to get a full time job with benefits and the hiring company paid the recruiter 20%. Besides, most companies aren't going to hire someone as a contractor who doesn't check all of the boxes. A company will allow an FTE to learn on the job if they don't meet 109^ of the requirements. I'll see what things look like in a two or three years and stick my toes back in the water.

3 points by rtisdale 8y ago

Hey everyone, author here. I wrote this article after spending a lot of time trying to figure out how I should charge for my services as a freelancer and was unable to find anything else that fit my needs. I recently made some corrections to my math thanks to a suggestion from a Hackaday user (It's a good thing I'm not a freelance mathematician :P). If you see any other issues, don't hesitate to let me know :). Side note: On the off chance you have an IPv6 only address with no IPv4 gateway, my website is not currently IPv6 compatible (Thanks to Hackernews reader Raul for reporting this). I've raised a request with my host and this will hopefully be fixed by the end of the year.

scarface74 8y ago

I don't have any problem with the math, just the anecdotal reality of the situation. When I started looking for another job in my local area about three months ago, I wanted to contract thinking I could make more money. I'm covered for benefits under my wife so I didn't factor that in. My "minimum salary" was $135K a year. As a W2 contractor (meaning the employment agency pays the employers half of Medicare and Social Security), and considering a 1760 hour work year: 2080 hours a year -80 hours federal holidays - 120 hours paid time off - 120 hours between gigs 1760 hours would be about $77 hour as W2 or around $84 hour Corp to Corp. Yes companies are paying at least $90-$100 an hour to recruiting firms but once they take their cut, it's hard to net the amount I wanted. If I don't go through a recruiting firm, I'm left hustling for gigs, competing with people who will work for a lot cheaper and I would have a lot more down time. On the other hand, going through the same recruiters, it was relatively easy to get a full time job with benefits and the hiring company paid the recruiter 20%. Besides, most companies aren't going to hire someone as a contractor who doesn't check all of the boxes. A company will allow an FTE to learn on the job if they don't meet 109^ of the requirements. I'll see what things look like in a two or three years and stick my toes back in the water.