Lots of very good advice in this thread so I'll take a different approach. What's your goal? Why are you looking for a $200 rate? Do you want to make 400k a y

Lots of very good advice in this thread so I'll take a different approach. What's your goal? Why are you looking for a $200 rate? Do you want to make 400k a year? Do you want to make 160k a year but only work for 20 weeks? Do you want flexibility in schedule? As a contractor, you'll spend way more time than you think you will developing contacts and trying to sell the ways you can provide value to a client. I quit a job when a former employer offered me close to that hourly rate to work on some very specialized software. Worked for about 9 months, then I spent the next 4 trying to look for more incredibly lucrative freelance work. Eventually met a startup who gave me an full-time offer I couldn't refuse so I took it. I'm much happier not intermittently searching for work and sinking my teeth into helping a company grow.