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Plumbers' riches is an urban myth. When I started out in web development, my billing rate was $325/hour, which a journalist could easily calculate into a $600,0
by capstone 16y ago
Plumbers' riches is an urban myth. When I started out in web development, my billing rate was $325/hour, which a journalist could easily calculate into a $600,000+ year job. In reality, I made around $70k. I suspect the plumbers meme is based on similarly ill-informed calculations. The reality is more humble: $20/hour for hired hands, lots of expenses and unbilled downtime for independents, etc. The average for highest-earning states (NY/CA) is around $60k.
- nir 16y ago>When I started out in web development, my billing rate was $325/hour, ??? When was that? What technology? That's easily the highest rate I've ever heard of.
- capstone 16y agoI was working for Arthur Andersen and later KPMG in New York. The technology stack was varied (Vignette/TCL is one odd example) and largely irrelevant to my rate, as was my value as a programmer (I wasn't very good back then). $325 was one of my more sedate rates actually, they've billed me out as high as $400. People tend to think the crazy numbers were a byproduct of the internet bubble but the biggest factor was due diligence: certain big clients had to choose a Big 5 firm for their projects based on requirements such as, minimum number of employees, minimum years in business, minimum assets, etc. The whole racket was absurd, if you ask me.
- alnayyir 16y ago$60k sounds about right, although I know a couple blue collars (not plumbers, but no white-collar track professional development) that get closer than that to what I make. But on the other hand, my rent is $500/mo, and they have mortgages and families. Media overestimates how good the blue-collar middle class are doing sometimes (and other groups, when/if they're employed) thanks to wonky calculus like you've mentioned.