4 ms·

Yes, because once you figure those parts (which is not that hard as you listed), you will be able to make 5x - 10x more money than you used to make with the sam

Yes, because once you figure those parts (which is not that hard as you listed), you will be able to make 5x - 10x more money than you used to make with the same skillset. 9-5 for a developer pays 100k. Freelance gets paid 250k+. This is real.

ordinaryperson 8y ago
Most devs I know make a lot more than 100K but maybe that reflects my old age. But let's dive into the numbers for a moment. I have no doubt you can book 250K in a year...but you only referred to the base salary of a developer, not all the other paid-for benefits. Health care is a huge one. Take a big number out of that 250K. Paid vacation is a second. Let's say you get 2-4 weeks off in total PTO, that's worth thousands of dollars. None of the expenses the author mentioned -- lawyer, accountant, etc. Free computer hardware. An office space to work in. Colleagues you can call on instantly for help. You don't have to spend unpaid time looking for work. I'd love to a see a spreadsheet comparison of each lifestyle and see if it's really raining money down as a consultant, because my (admittedly unscientific) gut says it's not.
- joezydeco 8y ago
  Health care is a huge one. Health care is a massive one. Burke doesn't mention if he's single or has a family, but any kind of decent plan (health + dental + vision) that covers a family will be extremely expensive. I just left a company and the COBRA quote for my old plan was $2,600/month. If ACA had been modified to eliminate preexisting conditions, this would have been even worse. I shopped on the open market before ACA and it was a nightmare.
  - ordinaryperson 8y ago
    Exactly. And presumably the OP is young and healthy but as you get older you'll need a lot of doctor's visits for the entire family and if you want a GOOD plan, not just some garbage one that barely covers anything, it's extremely expensive. But it gets to my overall point -- a lot of freelance devs like to bandy around big numbers like 250K without subtracting any of the costs or drawbacks. For some people I'm sure the tradeoff is worth it but on balance a good job at Big Tech Co to me seems like a better long-term prospect than freelancing forever. But it's just my opinion.
    - joezydeco 8y ago
      You don't even need to get older. Once you add a spouse and the possibility of pregnancy and delivery comes into play...the rates skyrocket.

ordinaryperson 8y ago

Most devs I know make a lot more than 100K but maybe that reflects my old age. But let's dive into the numbers for a moment. I have no doubt you can book 250K in a year...but you only referred to the base salary of a developer, not all the other paid-for benefits. Health care is a huge one. Take a big number out of that 250K. Paid vacation is a second. Let's say you get 2-4 weeks off in total PTO, that's worth thousands of dollars. None of the expenses the author mentioned -- lawyer, accountant, etc. Free computer hardware. An office space to work in. Colleagues you can call on instantly for help. You don't have to spend unpaid time looking for work. I'd love to a see a spreadsheet comparison of each lifestyle and see if it's really raining money down as a consultant, because my (admittedly unscientific) gut says it's not.

joezydeco 8y ago
Health care is a huge one. Health care is a massive one. Burke doesn't mention if he's single or has a family, but any kind of decent plan (health + dental + vision) that covers a family will be extremely expensive. I just left a company and the COBRA quote for my old plan was $2,600/month. If ACA had been modified to eliminate preexisting conditions, this would have been even worse. I shopped on the open market before ACA and it was a nightmare.
- ordinaryperson 8y ago
  Exactly. And presumably the OP is young and healthy but as you get older you'll need a lot of doctor's visits for the entire family and if you want a GOOD plan, not just some garbage one that barely covers anything, it's extremely expensive. But it gets to my overall point -- a lot of freelance devs like to bandy around big numbers like 250K without subtracting any of the costs or drawbacks. For some people I'm sure the tradeoff is worth it but on balance a good job at Big Tech Co to me seems like a better long-term prospect than freelancing forever. But it's just my opinion.
  - joezydeco 8y ago
    You don't even need to get older. Once you add a spouse and the possibility of pregnancy and delivery comes into play...the rates skyrocket.