I don't think he is saying that $100k is the number he is simply using $100k as a comparison that makes the math easy. The core point is that whatever the goin

I don't think he is saying that $100k is the number he is simply using $100k as a comparison that makes the math easy. The core point is that whatever the going rate for an engineer of your specialty and skill level is in your area that same job as a self-employed person should be paid more on an hourly basis to account not only for those extra expenses pointed out but also because of benefit to the company of the flexibility of the arrangement. That said there is a near infinite amount of people in the world willing to pay less for software engineering consulting services all the way down to $0. You need to avoid those people like the plague. I have personally dabbled in self-employment and really hate the sales aspect that is required to make it work. You really need a deep network and outstanding soft skills. If you don't have that another way is go use a head hunter that specializes in placing consultants/contract employees. The draw back there is they are going to take a cut of your hourly rate so long as you hold that position but it out sources the hard part of sourcing work if that isn't your thing.