Contract Developer - Hourly rate [modified]

[khuzwayom]

Hi All Would you please help me, I am planning to move into contracting soon due to a number of personal reasons. I have 6 years experience in .Net development. My skills set comprises of C#, ASP.Net,WCF,WPF,Silverlight,CSS, JavaScript,JQuery, SQL, SQL Server 2000 - 2008, SSIS and SSRS. So I would like to know "what's the average rate based on my experience and skill set" ? Thank you in advance.

MP

modified on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 8:43 AM

[Wild Programmer]

Normal rate is 45 dollar an hour. Anything around that.

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[Pete OHanlon]

You seem to be under the misapprehension here that you have a lot of control over your rate. Basically your rate is the one that the client is prepared to pay, so if you go in with limited contracting experience expecting $60 per hour, but the client only wants to pay $35 per hour then that's the rate you get if you go with that client. The question actually is, what's the average rate based on my experience and skill set. It's a subtle enough difference, but it's an important mindset to get into in the contractor versus consultant role. The answer is, of course, as much as you can possibly get from the client while leaving both parties happy that they've got a good deal.

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[khuzwayom]

Thank you Kumar and Pete for your responses, I have rephrased my question....

MP

[Lost User]

I can only really comment on European rates so you would be around 35 to 40 euros an hour. A little lower in Sterling, say about £30 - £35

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[R Giskard Reventlov]

Still a difficult question to answer: you really need to contact some agents with your cv and see what they say or go through the job sites and, if anything matches your skill set and experience, determine the appropriate rate. Here is an article on contracting[^]. It is part of a short series you might find helpful.

"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me

[Ger Hayden]

You will also need to remember at the risk of stating the obvious that your annual salary is the hourly rate * 5 * actual weeks worked. No pay for vacations, sick time or public holidays. Also deduct regulartory costs e.g. paying some one to look after your tax affairs. Against that you may be able to practice some tax efficiencies but if you plan to operate in Britain dont forget the dreaded IR35, while in Ireland, the Revenue Commissioners might take the view that you ought be taxed as a reqular employee. That said there are still some attractive .NET contracts stirring here. Try www.irishjobs.ie

Ger

[Ennis Ray Lynch Jr]

If only there were a Contractor Rate Calculator[^] online :) It seems my page has been overtaken by an unrelated bank rate mortgage calculator for the number on spot on Google :(

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