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Consulting Job
- Thread starter Abush
- Start date
It all depend son many things, from what kind of experience and certifications you have to what kind of work you are doing - not to mention your locality.
In Chicago you could expect to charge $75 an hour and get away with it. Usually you give quotes per project rather than per hour, so figure out roughly how many hours the proposed project will take, add 20% (things always take longer than expected so just factor that in) and multiply by $75.
For example, a 16 hour job (2 full days of work) with the added 20% is 19 hours, times $75 is $1,425.
If you are just doing a side gig for someone though and the budget is tight (usually companies or organizations don't ask people who don't do something for a living to do a side gig unless they expect to pay less than hiring a professional would cost) then you might wanna scale it back.
One way that works is figure out what you'd make in a regular work day, and charge slightly more than that (to make it worth your while). For example if its a two week job and you normally get paid a yearly salary of $50,000 ($1,000 per week with 2 weeks vacation) then charge $2,500 for the job ($1,000 per week as you normally get paid plus a little extra on the side).
The way you price is really up to you. The MOST IMPORTANT point is NEVER price yourself down. Unless you are doing someone a big favor cause you're such a nice guy, NEVER charge less than a living wage.
That's easy to adhere to: if $1,000 per month isn't enough to pay the bills at the end of the month, don't charge someone $250 for a full weeks worth of work.
Keep in mind this next piece of wisdom: if you price yourself too low you will be treated like crap. It's true. I am sure any consultant or professional who has billed clients by the project or by the hour knows and can verify: those clients you charge less than market fees and do favors for will be the biggest pains in the behind. Those clients who you charge what you would consider "fair" perhaps even "premium" prices are going to treat you with respect and be funner to work with.
This is because people VALUE your insights, opinions, and your contributions to their project much more if they are paying a steep price as they recognize they are paying you because you are the expert.
If you charge TOO LITTLE they will have this subconcious feeling that what you are doing is easy. "Oh its just working on a computer - can't be that hard". Your contributions and insights become less valuable, and you become a commoditiy (someone they can replace anytime they want, afterall your job is easy and anyone can do it -- thats why it doesnt command a large salary).
So whatever you go with be careful to avoid the "I will underbid everyone so I can get the job" or "I won't charge so much cause I'm a nice guy trap". It's better to charge what you are worth and go the extra mile to make sure you do a good job than it is to undercharge and be run over and treated like dirt by whoever is paying you.
In Chicago you could expect to charge $75 an hour and get away with it. Usually you give quotes per project rather than per hour, so figure out roughly how many hours the proposed project will take, add 20% (things always take longer than expected so just factor that in) and multiply by $75.
For example, a 16 hour job (2 full days of work) with the added 20% is 19 hours, times $75 is $1,425.
If you are just doing a side gig for someone though and the budget is tight (usually companies or organizations don't ask people who don't do something for a living to do a side gig unless they expect to pay less than hiring a professional would cost) then you might wanna scale it back.
One way that works is figure out what you'd make in a regular work day, and charge slightly more than that (to make it worth your while). For example if its a two week job and you normally get paid a yearly salary of $50,000 ($1,000 per week with 2 weeks vacation) then charge $2,500 for the job ($1,000 per week as you normally get paid plus a little extra on the side).
The way you price is really up to you. The MOST IMPORTANT point is NEVER price yourself down. Unless you are doing someone a big favor cause you're such a nice guy, NEVER charge less than a living wage.
That's easy to adhere to: if $1,000 per month isn't enough to pay the bills at the end of the month, don't charge someone $250 for a full weeks worth of work.
Keep in mind this next piece of wisdom: if you price yourself too low you will be treated like crap. It's true. I am sure any consultant or professional who has billed clients by the project or by the hour knows and can verify: those clients you charge less than market fees and do favors for will be the biggest pains in the behind. Those clients who you charge what you would consider "fair" perhaps even "premium" prices are going to treat you with respect and be funner to work with.
This is because people VALUE your insights, opinions, and your contributions to their project much more if they are paying a steep price as they recognize they are paying you because you are the expert.
If you charge TOO LITTLE they will have this subconcious feeling that what you are doing is easy. "Oh its just working on a computer - can't be that hard". Your contributions and insights become less valuable, and you become a commoditiy (someone they can replace anytime they want, afterall your job is easy and anyone can do it -- thats why it doesnt command a large salary).
So whatever you go with be careful to avoid the "I will underbid everyone so I can get the job" or "I won't charge so much cause I'm a nice guy trap". It's better to charge what you are worth and go the extra mile to make sure you do a good job than it is to undercharge and be run over and treated like dirt by whoever is paying you.
I forgot to mention, if you are doing something that will later require Technical Support (i.e. setting up a computer that may have issues or problems later that you will be expected to take care of) you have to build that into your initial estimate or you will be tricked into doing free work.
For example, if I was to setup 5 computers and a printer on a network and I knew the people using it would have issues and could screw something up that would require me to go back out there to reconfigure the settings on the computers, I'd build that into my initial price.
If I was going to spend 10 hours setting it up, I'd charge $900 for the setup (10 hours + 20% * $75 = $900), but if I also knew that there is a good chance I'd have to come back at least twice to fix things should something go wrong down the line (and it would take 3 hours each time for a total of 6 hours) I would add the additional $540 into the estimate for a grand total of $1,440 to setup 5 computers and a printer on a network.
That way if I had to come back out there, I am not working for free, and if I don't have to come out there that's a nice bonus for me.
Alternativley, you may also wish to specify that once the work is performed if you have to be called back to do additional work or support the original work, additional fees apply.
IF YOU DON'T PROACTIVLEY MANAGE WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU LEAVE then you will end up having to come back and doing work for free or risking a bad reputation. Be smart, plan ahead.
If you tell me the nature of your project I could recommend a few other things to include into your written contract with the client (you do have one, don't you? Yes, you do need one, even for a small job with a client you know VERY well!)
For example, if I was to setup 5 computers and a printer on a network and I knew the people using it would have issues and could screw something up that would require me to go back out there to reconfigure the settings on the computers, I'd build that into my initial price.
If I was going to spend 10 hours setting it up, I'd charge $900 for the setup (10 hours + 20% * $75 = $900), but if I also knew that there is a good chance I'd have to come back at least twice to fix things should something go wrong down the line (and it would take 3 hours each time for a total of 6 hours) I would add the additional $540 into the estimate for a grand total of $1,440 to setup 5 computers and a printer on a network.
That way if I had to come back out there, I am not working for free, and if I don't have to come out there that's a nice bonus for me.
Alternativley, you may also wish to specify that once the work is performed if you have to be called back to do additional work or support the original work, additional fees apply.
IF YOU DON'T PROACTIVLEY MANAGE WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU LEAVE then you will end up having to come back and doing work for free or risking a bad reputation. Be smart, plan ahead.
If you tell me the nature of your project I could recommend a few other things to include into your written contract with the client (you do have one, don't you? Yes, you do need one, even for a small job with a client you know VERY well!)
