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After working +1200 hours in oDesk

malditointer.net

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Re: After working +1200 hours in oDesk

#81

Post by atox »

csomar wrote: post #75
atox wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the insight Omar. I moved to Hungary, so not really a third world country. I've only been living here for ~3 months so my estimate might be of by a bit. 1) I don't really need a car since public transport here is ok. However I do own one. I cut my car costs to a minimum by changing from a sports car to a 10 year old Ford Focus. 2) I have an accountant that costs about 300 euros per month right now, is one…

Thanks for the feedback. Hungary might not be a top developed country, but there is a huge divide between a developed and a chaotic country. 1- Public transport is really huge. A car is a very expensive thing (especially a new one). 2- Car prices are two times higher than in developed countries. This is due to importing restrictions. Old cars are crazy expensive. My car appreciate just one week after I bought it by 8…

Yes, I would never describe Hungary as a chaotic country.

I see how all of those things would drastically alter your needed income, especially the cost of a car and inflation.

I'm certainly not well informed on the cost of rent here, but I guess that 300-400€ per month should get you a more than decent place to live and work.

I checked the blog on your profile and seems like you're working on some cool things and doing well for yourself, congrats on overcoming the odds like that.

Re: After working +1200 hours in oDesk

#82

Post by olaf »

I have left odesk, because of their ridiculously unjust behaviour in a dispute between a client and me. The "support" people there lack basic ethical principles like "in case of a conflict hear both parties involved" and just suspended my account. It's a place, where arbitrariness is an everyday occurrence. I think, it is better to avoid a place, where people with such weak ethics have power over one's business.

Re: After working +1200 hours in oDesk

#83

Post by pessimizer »

x1024 wrote: post #63
csomar wrote: post #36

The hours logged in his graph (per my understanding) do not show the work spent on searching and applying for jobs. And also tweaking your CV. There is a lot of overhead in doing this. And then you have to log hours for: accounting, banking, and government papers. And then deduct banking and accountants fees. And then deduct your hardware fees (since you are paying for them yourself). No need for an office since you…

Wow, $60/hour. Define "poor".

Easy: $60/hour, 5 hours a week.

Re: After working +1200 hours in oDesk

#84

Post by pessimizer »

chad_oliver wrote: post #42
e12e wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, 150 hours/month is more like 37.5 hours a week (7.5 hours, mon-fri). IMNHO there's actually quite a difference between that and a full 40 hour week. This all assumes no work outside the 1200 hours, obviously.

Surely half an hour a day doesn't make a lot of difference? Many people spend more on their commute.

Many people's commutes make a lot of difference.

Re: After working +1200 hours in oDesk

#85

Post by jiggy2011 »

agilebyte wrote: post #71
jiggy2011 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not worth getting worked up over. If you sell your services for $x there is always somebody willing to sell for $x - 1.

Or organise an international union of programmers...

Wouldn't that involve getting every programmer in the world to actually agree on something? Good luck with that!

Re: After working +1200 hours in oDesk

#86

Post by waps »

pessimizer wrote: post #84
chad_oliver wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely half an hour a day doesn't make a lot of difference? Many people spend more on their commute.

Many people's commutes make a lot of difference.

True, on the other hand 37.5 hours is a week's worth of toilet breaks plus maybe one lunch out of 5 ?

Re: After working +1200 hours in oDesk

#87

Post by poulsbohemian »

GFischer wrote: post #65
atox wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you share how you got the $60 number? I recently relocated to a low income country and guestimated my needed hourly rate to be around $20 when doing a 30 hour work week. Biggest differences that I could think of is that I bought my house mortgage free and that I have a partner that also makes $20 per hour.

I live in Uruguay (South America) and I agree with you. A U$ 20 rate would enable me to live decently, but U$ 60/hr would enable me to live extremely well (living in the best neighbourhood, private school for children, etc..) I currently make U$ 8 an hour (because I work 240 hours a month as a salaried employee) and I find it tough to make ends meet (even though my girlfriend works as well, she makes more than I do b…

Just a note to HN'ers: GFischer is a good guy. He's been tremendously helpful with introductions and information about the business climate in South America in the past. +1 for him, hope to meet him in person and repay his kindness someday.

Re: After working +1200 hours in oDesk

#88

Post by GFischer »

poulsbohemian wrote: post #87
GFischer wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Uruguay (South America) and I agree with you. A U$ 20 rate would enable me to live decently, but U$ 60/hr would enable me to live extremely well (living in the best neighbourhood, private school for children, etc..) I currently make U$ 8 an hour (because I work 240 hours a month as a salaried employee) and I find it tough to make ends meet (even though my girlfriend works as well, she makes more than I do b…

Just a note to HN'ers: GFischer is a good guy. He's been tremendously helpful with introductions and information about the business climate in South America in the past. +1 for him, hope to meet him in person and repay his kindness someday.

Thank you, it was nothing, I'm glad you found it useful. I've been helped a lot by people on HN as well, I'm happy to return the favor whenever I can :) .

If you ever visit Uruguay, message me and I'll be glad to meet you :)

Re: After working +1200 hours in oDesk

#90

Post by malditojavi »

paulhauggis wrote: post #40

I tried oDesk last year. There are so many people that are only willing to pay After getting through all of this, the clients left over that are even willing to pay a decent wage expect way too much. Developer, designer, and product manager for one fee. I can't tell you how many potential clients I turned down because of this. I gave this up and found a decent part-time contracting gig on craigslist. Odesk should be…

I feel your pain, Paul. It's true that there are some contractors willing to sell themselves for some bucks, while there are other real professionals that know what are they limit rates and what is the threshold of rates they can play with. imho, first group won't never last a large period in workforce-on-demand platforms cause of: 1.not making enough money to survive 2. getting pissed of junk jobs
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