I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page • Hacker News Board

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#341

Post by webninja » Wed, May 15, 2019, 11:32 PM UTC

mprev wrote: post #318

osrec wrote: post #12

You should try working in an investment bank as a contractor. You need to find the right team, but a lot of them are massive collections of people doing virtually nothing but getting paid great daily rates. The trick is to look busy and wrap your team/yourself in a perceived sense of enigma and complexity. If you play your cards right, you can end up in a situation where no one will ask questions as long as you fire…

Ugh, but who wants to do nothing all day? You get one life; why waste your days?

Having nothing to do but being forced to look busy is a special kind of hell.

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#342

Post by webninja » Wed, May 15, 2019, 11:33 PM UTC

mrguyorama wrote: post #186

solotronics wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a theory that in most large companies the 80/20 rule applies. 20% of the engineers do 80% of the work.

It also feels like those same 80% of the engineers doing nothing are taking home 80% of the compensation

Because those other 80% are focused on posturing and tasks associated with getting higher pay.

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#343

Post by cestith » Wed, May 15, 2019, 11:35 PM UTC

peteradio wrote: post #73

sharkweek wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Big companies (rather, people at big companies) WANT to spend money on this kind of stuff for all sorts of reasons. -A team might have use-it-or-lose-it budget, so they have to spend it on something, and a contractor might be the lucky recipient! -Tax purposes! -Spending a lot on a contractor gives them someone to "fire" when they need to explain why something wasn't getting done or something went poorly! The list go…

Unless you are getting taxed >100% I never understood why you'd want to throw away money for "tax reasons". Can someone please help me understand this, it always comes up and I feel dumb for not understanding.

In limited cicrumstances it can make sense. If you're investing in a multi-year project you may as well maximize your investment in one year and take the loss against other taxable income that year. Then, when the project is finished, you pay taxes on the income that year. Only you can take those funds and invest them into a new multi-year project...

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#344

Post by derek_frome » Wed, May 15, 2019, 11:38 PM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #230

crispyambulance wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, "charge accordingly" means different things to different customers. My parents never advertised their tailor shop, it was all "word-of-mouth" business. After the pricing jack-up, every customer got charged what my mother felt they could pay (with a very loose regard for consistency and some allowance for negotiation). I used to think that was sketchy. It wasn't until much later that I realized that B2B enterpris…

> I used to think that was sketchy. It wasn't until much later that I realized that B2B enterprise sales people do that stuff ALL THE TIME even with their onerous kpi's, forecasting and fiscal quarter expectations! Depending on how it's done, it still is, and enterprise salesmen doing it doesn't make it less so. As a customer, I don't necessarily seek absolute minimum price, but I want it to be a fair price that I ca…

I also prefer vendors that list prices, but when they do, it's important to remember that the list price is only the maximum price.

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#345

Post by misiti3780 » Wed, May 15, 2019, 11:41 PM UTC

TecoAndJix wrote: post #331

misiti3780 wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i have a clearance for my job also, worked in a SCIFF all day ...

I left government work a while back for the private sector. The nice thing about SCIF work is the privacy and autonomy :)

not to mention you cant really be distracted by the internet ...

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#346

Post by ibeckermayer » Wed, May 15, 2019, 11:45 PM UTC

madeofpalk wrote: post #120

sharkweek wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Big companies (rather, people at big companies) WANT to spend money on this kind of stuff for all sorts of reasons. -A team might have use-it-or-lose-it budget, so they have to spend it on something, and a contractor might be the lucky recipient! -Tax purposes! -Spending a lot on a contractor gives them someone to "fire" when they need to explain why something wasn't getting done or something went poorly! The list go…

Its stories (and personal experience) like this that make me laugh when people try and say that governments are inefficient and lacks accountability.

Big corporations are inefficient and lack accountability. Governments are like big corporations in that manner, but also can't be held accountable by the market.

Corporate monstrosities can get away with being inefficient insofar as they can stay out of the red overall. Governments can get away with being inefficient insofar as we are forced to continue funding them via taxation. Note: giant, unaccountable, inefficient corporations usually became so large through monopolies created through government force (i.e. regulation).

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#347

Post by ibeckermayer » Wed, May 15, 2019, 11:47 PM UTC

lazyasciiart wrote: post #199

whowhatwhy wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

a company is accountable for the dollars you pay to it, and has to provide a commensurate value, or you take your business elsewhere. dollars paid to the government keep coming in no matter how wasteful their practices

That's not how people choose which health insurance policy is offered by their employer, or which private company won the contract to deliver their electricity.

Those are some of the most regulated industries in existence. Those companies are "private" in the sense that private individuals reap profits, but their funding is secured by proxy through force (legislation/forceful-taxation).

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#348

Post by netwanderer3 » Wed, May 15, 2019, 11:55 PM UTC

duxup wrote: post #18

I know someone working as a contractor for a big company. 1 year contract. 6 months have gone by and they've done ... nothing. Their boss keeps saying "Don't worry we'll get to you, we're just swamped right now, you're good." They're already talking about extending the contract.

I know a couple of friends who worked at the major banks. They all started out as contractors. I remember one guy told me during their first year that all they did was browsing Reddit at work. He was a close friend and didn't want me to join their team because he knew I would display the level of work ethic that would make him look bad.

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#349

Post by atoav » Thu, May 16, 2019, 12:08 AM UTC

ryanbrunner wrote: post #3

Entertaining story - although as advice to anyone reading it, running up the clock without proactively notifying people that you're going way beyond your original estimate is a very good way to make getting paid incredibly difficult.

Precisely the oposite. People are usually willing to pay far more, if they are to blame for you beeing slow. If they only get the slightest hint of a feeling that you might be kicking the can down the road, they will blame it on you entirely.

This is, why you leave a paper/email trail.

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#350

Post by yibg » Thu, May 16, 2019, 12:18 AM UTC

duxup wrote: post #18

I know someone working as a contractor for a big company. 1 year contract. 6 months have gone by and they've done ... nothing. Their boss keeps saying "Don't worry we'll get to you, we're just swamped right now, you're good." They're already talking about extending the contract.

I had a friend working on contract for the local city government. The contract was I believe for 2 years. A year in the project got cancelled but since his contract has already been signed they just kept paying him with no work for him to do. He just went in (because of course he still had to show up for some reason), and played games all day. Now I partially understand why so many government projects go over budget.