Ask YC: What are the going rates for consulting gigs?

#1

Post by iamelgringo » Tue, May 06, 2008, 11:56 AM UTC

I'm wondering if people have any sense of what consulting gigs are paying these days. I'm sure that the pay rate varies by geography, industry, computer language and technology.

My primary interest is in hearing what LAMP, Django and RoR gigs are paying, but I'd also love to hear what DB consultants are making as well.

* edit *

Okay, I just want to clarify my question a little. Despite what people may infer, I'm not asking "How much can I charge?" I'm career changing, and I worked contract work as an ER/ICU nurse for 8 years. Nurses in the contract biz were pretty free and open with hourly salaries and living allowance ranges. I'm assuming (perhaps wrongly) that there is a similar culture in the software world.

I am asking for a rough ball-park. I'm looking for a range that people are making from "Oh, my God, they got screwed and will be eating ramen for months." to "I can't she had the balls to ask for that rate."

Not knowing the tech contracting business too well, I'm just asking for a lay of the land. If this is a taboo subject.... my bad. Please disregard.

Re: Ask YC: What are the going rates for consulting gigs?

#2

Post by danohuiginn » Tue, May 06, 2008, 12:13 PM UTC

"the pay rate varies by geography, industry, computer language and technology."

Mainly, it varies depending on whether you're any good (and whether people know that you're good). If you're asking "how high should I set my rate" - unfortunately, I don't think there's an easy answer to that, without knowing you.

Re: Ask YC: What are the going rates for consulting gigs?

#3

Post by iamelgringo » Tue, May 06, 2008, 12:19 PM UTC

danohuiginn wrote: post #2

"the pay rate varies by geography, industry, computer language and technology." Mainly, it varies depending on whether you're any good (and whether people know that you're good). If you're asking "how high should I set my rate" - unfortunately, I don't think there's an easy answer to that, without knowing you.

I realize that a lot of this is going to be personal network specific--who do I know that's willing to get me a contract gig. I also realize that it's going to be talent specific.

But, I'm mostly looking for ballpark figures, I'm not really interested in rate setting. I'm career changing, and I should be graduating from school after this summer. I'm mostly trying to get a feel for rates.

Re: Ask YC: What are the going rates for consulting gigs?

#4

Post by prakash » Tue, May 06, 2008, 12:23 PM UTC

"How to Set Your Hourly Consulting Rate": http://30sleeps.com/blog/2007/09/27/set-your-hourly-rate/

and another one from Michael Hartl, "How I can charge so much":

http://eikonoklastes.org/articles/2007/09/26/how-i-can-charg...

Re: Ask YC: What are the going rates for consulting gigs?

#5

Post by rockstar9 » Tue, May 06, 2008, 12:47 PM UTC

Another question is: How do you even find consulting gigs?

Re: Ask YC: What are the going rates for consulting gigs?

#6

Post by mfruhling » Tue, May 06, 2008, 12:53 PM UTC

I've done consulting on the microsoft stack and I got between $50/hr and $75/hr on short term gigs. I was also considered on the cheap side by the people who hired me. I think price is greatly determined by whether you're coming from a company or you're an individual. Customers will pay a consulting firm $150-$200/hr or more because they are also buying someone to blame if the project goes wrong. An individual is not going to see that amount. My advice would be to market yourself as a consulting company, even if that is just some of your friends loosely affiliating yourselves with one another. You will get higher rates that way. Another way to higher rates is to have a business domain(s) that you can be considered knowledgeable in. Domain knowledge will separate you from the pack when someone is price shopping, and that knowledge or experience really does make you much more valuable and efficient.

Re: Ask YC: What are the going rates for consulting gigs?

#7

Post by danw » Tue, May 06, 2008, 12:54 PM UTC

Pick how much you wish to earn, and set your rate based on that. Then see if you can sell at that rate and adjust accordingly

Re: Ask YC: What are the going rates for consulting gigs?

#8

Post by subwindow » Tue, May 06, 2008, 12:59 PM UTC

Not to sound blunt, but you can charge whatever you feel you're worth. I've never had a client blink when I told them what my hourly rate was. They do a calculation in their head, but it is not "Is this too expensive?" but it is "Do I think this guy is worth it?" Chances are if you yourself feel that you're worth that amount, they will too.

That said, DB consultants generally make a bit more because of the fragility and messiness of what they deal with. I've done some Oracle consulting at $100/hr and that, I realize now, was a very low rate.

Re: Ask YC: What are the going rates for consulting gigs?

#9

Post by gexla » Tue, May 06, 2008, 1:02 PM UTC

Sorry, you are not going to get away with it that easy. This is like going up to that hot girl you have been eyeballing and saying "I really want to go through the whole dating process because I really don't understand it, can we just skip all that and get straight to serious relationship?"

This question is nearly impossible to answer and a very personal decision. Nobody here can tell you how much you are worth. For example, am I doomed to crap rates just because I live in the Philippines? No (sorry danohuiginn!)

Figure out how much money you want to make and how many hours you want to work. Remember that you cannot get eight billable hours out of an eight hour day.

As a "consultant" you are running a business. Asking other people how much your rates should be is not a business question, that is a programmers question. You are asking like this is some sort of algorithm you can plug into your code. You need to tweak your mindset a bit.

Edit: How to get consulting work.

Build your brand and visibility. Pick a community (get a bonus for picking one frequented by paying clients) and establish yourself as an authority. Create an open source project which you can point to which shows you know what you are doing.

Network! The area in which I am has more work than there are people available yet there is likely no shortage of people who would love to break in. The reason for this paradox is that I only work with people in my network.

All the freelancers I know are overworked. Often any one of them need help and I can't help them because I am overworked as well. Get to know other developers who are freelancing and ask them if they know anyone who needs a hand.

It's all about that recognizable and trusted brand!

Re: Ask YC: What are the going rates for consulting gigs?

#10

Post by fortes » Tue, May 06, 2008, 1:30 PM UTC

gexla wrote: post #9

Sorry, you are not going to get away with it that easy. This is like going up to that hot girl you have been eyeballing and saying "I really want to go through the whole dating process because I really don't understand it, can we just skip all that and get straight to serious relationship?" This question is nearly impossible to answer and a very personal decision. Nobody here can tell you how much you are worth. For…

"Remember that you cannot get eight billable hours out of an eight hour day."

This is an extremely important point. When I was freelancing, I was surprised by just how much non-billable overhead time I had (at least 5-10 hours a week when working with 3 clients). To reduce overhead, work with as few clients as possible. But you'll run into dead time that way, since jobs don't start on a dime.

I know a guy who has freelanced for 5 years and kept meticulous records. He knows what he's doing, but says every year he tops out at about 60% of his time being billable. Make sure you factor that into your rate.

It's really easy to take your rate and multiply by 40, thinking that's your weekly salary. This is pretty much never the case.

Also, don't forget taxes.