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Usually, when you get to the stage where you charge this kind of money, you are really charging not for the work, but all of the work that you've done before an

Usually, when you get to the stage where you charge this kind of money, you are really charging not for the work, but all of the work that you've done before and the experience that came with it. An hour with someone worth their salt can easily save you 20 hours paying the $50/hour developer types. You don't hire these guys to build your project, just to point you in the right direction. The real question is "does this particular guy have $1000/hour advice to offer". His customers ultimately decide this.

CaptainZapp 14y ago
There's an anexdote for that: woman is strolling through a local park, when she happens upon Pablo Picasso sitting on a bench. Struck by her good fortune, she summons the courage to speak to him. “Excuse me. You’re Pablo Picasso right?” The man smiles. “Would it be possible to have you sketch my portrait? I’ll pay.” Picasso accepts the offer. He considers the woman carefully for a few moments and then takes out a pen and paper. He quickly sketches a single line on the page. He takes one last look at the page and hands it to the woman. “That’s incredible!” She says. “You’ve managed to capture my essence in a single stroke of the pen.” “That will be $5,000,” Picasso replies. “$5,000? But it only took you seconds to draw it!” “Actually, my dear, it took me my whole life.” (from http://morethanaliving.com/2007/03/20/pablo-picasso-anecdote-or-apocrypha-or-whatever-its-still-a-valuable-lesson/ http://morethanaliving.com/2007/03/20/pablo-picasso-anecdote...
- ladon86 14y ago
  This kind of dynamic exists in a few professions. About a year ago I was locked out of my house and had to call an emergency locksmith - the cost was around $150. He turned up and inserted a piece of rigid plastic into the gap between door and frame, opening the lock. The process took 5 seconds, and I immediately realized that, given the knowledge that this would work, I could have opened the door myself using a credit card. But I didn't possess that knowledge, and the value of gaining access to my home was worth what I paid. I had paid not for hours worked, but for experience.
  - Swizec 14y ago
    You obviously don't watch enough sitcoms if you didn't know that would work. Ok, granted, I saw this and until I visited the US I didn't believe it would work (it wouldn't in most doors I've seen). But in the US, we tried, it opened every locked door in the house. So yeah, the lesson to be learned from this is next time to at least try some hair brained ideas before calling someone. :)
    - PakG1 14y ago
      I have watched enough mechanics open a car door locked with the keys inside. I still can't do it on my own though. Call a professional, the guy gets it done in seconds (plus the time it takes for him to travel to wherever I am). Some things, even if you possess the knowledge, you may not possess the skill.
  - patio11 14y ago
    Locksmiths are sort of a weird case: you can learn to open 95%+ of commercially relevant locks with $100 of tools and less than an hour of training. The biggest reason it costs $150 and not $25 is that your locality makes it illegal to advertise as a locksmith, and illegal to possess locksmithing tools, without certification. There's a nebulous security rationale for this, because apparently normal people can be allowed to own credit cards and compressed air cans but if we allow them to open locks for money as well then they'll burglarize every house in sight.
    - illuminate 14y ago
      "The biggest reason it costs $150 and not $25 is that your locality makes it illegal to advertise as a locksmith, and illegal to possess locksmithing tools, without certification." I'd say the number of shady "locksmiths" in the phonebook that only know how to drill and replace locks should alter that assumption somewhat.
    - tomjen3 14y ago
      It very much depends on which locality you are in. In plenty of places it is legal to own locksmithing tools. You can find many videos of lockpicking on youtube.

CaptainZapp 14y ago

There's an anexdote for that: woman is strolling through a local park, when she happens upon Pablo Picasso sitting on a bench. Struck by her good fortune, she summons the courage to speak to him. “Excuse me. You’re Pablo Picasso right?” The man smiles. “Would it be possible to have you sketch my portrait? I’ll pay.” Picasso accepts the offer. He considers the woman carefully for a few moments and then takes out a pen and paper. He quickly sketches a single line on the page. He takes one last look at the page and hands it to the woman. “That’s incredible!” She says. “You’ve managed to capture my essence in a single stroke of the pen.” “That will be $5,000,” Picasso replies. “$5,000? But it only took you seconds to draw it!” “Actually, my dear, it took me my whole life.” (from http://morethanaliving.com/2007/03/20/pablo-picasso-anecdote-or-apocrypha-or-whatever-its-still-a-valuable-lesson/ http://morethanaliving.com/2007/03/20/pablo-picasso-anecdote...

ladon86 14y ago
This kind of dynamic exists in a few professions. About a year ago I was locked out of my house and had to call an emergency locksmith - the cost was around $150. He turned up and inserted a piece of rigid plastic into the gap between door and frame, opening the lock. The process took 5 seconds, and I immediately realized that, given the knowledge that this would work, I could have opened the door myself using a credit card. But I didn't possess that knowledge, and the value of gaining access to my home was worth what I paid. I had paid not for hours worked, but for experience.
- Swizec 14y ago
  You obviously don't watch enough sitcoms if you didn't know that would work. Ok, granted, I saw this and until I visited the US I didn't believe it would work (it wouldn't in most doors I've seen). But in the US, we tried, it opened every locked door in the house. So yeah, the lesson to be learned from this is next time to at least try some hair brained ideas before calling someone. :)
  - PakG1 14y ago
    I have watched enough mechanics open a car door locked with the keys inside. I still can't do it on my own though. Call a professional, the guy gets it done in seconds (plus the time it takes for him to travel to wherever I am). Some things, even if you possess the knowledge, you may not possess the skill.
- patio11 14y ago
  Locksmiths are sort of a weird case: you can learn to open 95%+ of commercially relevant locks with $100 of tools and less than an hour of training. The biggest reason it costs $150 and not $25 is that your locality makes it illegal to advertise as a locksmith, and illegal to possess locksmithing tools, without certification. There's a nebulous security rationale for this, because apparently normal people can be allowed to own credit cards and compressed air cans but if we allow them to open locks for money as well then they'll burglarize every house in sight.
  - illuminate 14y ago
    "The biggest reason it costs $150 and not $25 is that your locality makes it illegal to advertise as a locksmith, and illegal to possess locksmithing tools, without certification." I'd say the number of shady "locksmiths" in the phonebook that only know how to drill and replace locks should alter that assumption somewhat.
  - tomjen3 14y ago
    It very much depends on which locality you are in. In plenty of places it is legal to own locksmithing tools. You can find many videos of lockpicking on youtube.