Yea, requiring consulting fees from big companies is definitely the way to go. Some open source guy wants to pick your brain: Sure lets get lunch and split it.

Yea, requiring consulting fees from big companies is definitely the way to go. Some open source guy wants to pick your brain: Sure lets get lunch and split it. Some small single digit founder start-up wants to talk abut your work: Ok sure, pay for my lunch lets talk about how I can help you change the world. Freaking Microsoft wants to talk: That'll be 1k an hour plus expenses (also get a limo and a nice dinner). The humility of engineering should stop at the boundary between people who want to change the world and those who just want to profit off of you.