Believe it or not, I have had applicants who have felt entitled not only to $85/hour (52 weeks x 40 hours equates this to 176,000 USD for this particular progra

Believe it or not, I have had applicants who have felt entitled not only to $85/hour (52 weeks x 40 hours equates this to 176,000 USD for this particular programmer whose only skill is Basic and C#), who was even asking for equity at this rate. This guy was talking about serious CEO pay even though he didn't even know our main language (Ruby) and would presumably require time to be acquainted with it. The bottom line is you need to account properly for the past, the present, and the future. We pay $75,000 or $45/hour (if contractor) for a programmer with 3-4 years of professional experience (add $10/hour to your rate if you are not salaried or there is no guarantee of continued work a la contractor. We talk equity later.