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Ask HN: What do you do and what's your consulting rate?

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Re: Ask HN: What do you do and what's your consulting rate?

#62

Post by tata71 »

dzhiurgis wrote: post #52
hkhanna wrote: post #24

Lawyer (corporate/VC/M&A) for $495 per hour, with discounts offered if they have me on retainer. Python/Django/React.js developer for $295 per hour. I offer both of these together at a blended rate to folks who need both a lawyer and a software developer.

> folks who need both a lawyer and a software developer Strange intersection, but can you give examples?

Any software company with competitors.

Re: Ask HN: What do you do and what's your consulting rate?

#64

Post by seanwilson »

throwaway81523 wrote: post #46
acrooks wrote: post #17

I’ve shifted to bidding fixed rate on projects around a defined scope. It’s a lot more work upfront to define a clear statement of work, but it has allowed me to stay above USD$200/hr without customers batting an eye - whereas my rate was consistently a sticking point in negotiations. My consulting mostly focuses around IT/digital strategy and the work product usually involves connecting together incumbent systems, a…

I've never seen a project where the customer knew what they wanted clearly enough to have a SOW with a fixed scope. The work always expands. Maybe I've been doing something wrong. How are you doing during the pandemic, which makes in-person meetings and on-site work difficult?

> I've never seen a project where the customer knew what they wanted clearly enough to have a SOW with a fixed scope.

Not sure if you do this but that's why you really should charge for helping with the requirements gathering and solution design, it's really valuable to pin down what the problem is and know that what you're going to build will fix it properly. It also means you're not in a rush to throw out an estimate with limited information. Better for both sides.

Re: Ask HN: What do you do and what's your consulting rate?

#66

Post by muzani »

gwlperl wrote: post #15

Rack Rate: $225USD/hour. Friends and Family rate: 1 beer per incident.

I've learned that it's a terrible idea to have separate rates for friends. Do it for completely free - not even a glass of water. The beer often puts you in as much obligation as the $225.

Re: Ask HN: What do you do and what's your consulting rate?

#68

Post by brtkdotse »

d3ad1ysp0rk wrote: post #5

Dev Manager or Tech Lead - $150/hr for longer (3+ week) engagements, $225/hr for shorter ones. Focus is generally optimizing delivery + quality, which can take the form of anything from requirements gathering processes to testing pipelines or rebuilding trust. Fully remote in Maine.

Is there a market for a dev manager/tech lead for less than 6 months? Seems like a slow ramp long term engagement

Re: Ask HN: What do you do and what's your consulting rate?

#69

Post by throwaway81523 »

seanwilson wrote: post #64
throwaway81523 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never seen a project where the customer knew what they wanted clearly enough to have a SOW with a fixed scope. The work always expands. Maybe I've been doing something wrong. How are you doing during the pandemic, which makes in-person meetings and on-site work difficult?

> I've never seen a project where the customer knew what they wanted clearly enough to have a SOW with a fixed scope. Not sure if you do this but that's why you really should charge for helping with the requirements gathering and solution design, it's really valuable to pin down what the problem is and know that what you're going to build will fix it properly. It also means you're not in a rush to throw out an estima…

Right, I'll usually do an initial phone consultation for free, but anything more expensive would be billed. The issue is that there is not usually a well-defined problem. There is a general goal that takes some iterations to accomplish, with the customer concocting new features and requirements as development progresses. Of course everyone says to build some padding into the schedule for that, but they think of expansion factors like 10% when it really has to be 10x.

If it really is a well defined, contained problem, they will probably go on Fiver since they don't really need any design help, which is the most useful thing I can usually supply as a consultant. Banging out code is by itself nothing special these days.

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