[Info-vax] Contract Opportunity: VMS Developer

[Bill Gunshannon]

On 4/14/19 12:13 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
> Kerry Main  <kemain.nospam at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> There are likely not going to be many software development opportunities =
>> anywhere to get USD $150 (CAD $200/hr) or in other terms, CAD =
>> $400,000/yr (2000 hr typical year). Big difference between minimum wage =
>> and what you were asking for.
> 
> As a consultant on a contract, you get no benefits, no stability, no
> office, in fact you are paying out of pocket for many of the services
> that an employer would normally provide.
> 
> Health insurance is likely not the problem in Canada that it is here, but
> in the US it adds a huge chunk onto the costs that a consultant has to pay
> out instead of the employer.
> 
> On top of this, a consultant likely spends as much time doing overhead
> work (like looking for jobs) as he does working, so that has to be figured
> as a substantial additional cost and somebody has to pay it so it's going
> to be the employer.
> 
> So expect a consulting price to be between two and five times what you
> would expect to pay for an employee.  Sometimes I have seen it as much as
> ten.  If this is too much for you... then hire an employee and not a
> consultant.

I tried explaining this when the job was first posted but, as
usual, people said I knew not what I was talking about.  I
remember back in my pre-.edu days the rule of thumb when looking
to hire someone for a position we were bidding on was to plan on
the actual cost of the body top be three times what we were going
to offer them as a salary.  And that was for a firm with a lot of
the overhead covered already.

> 
>> Another tip - just because you sent one email to the staffing firm and =
>> received no response, don't assume there was no interest (ok, actually =
>> requesting CAD $200/hr would likely not receive much interest).=20
> 
> That's a more or less normal rate for a consulting programmer.  Figure that
> in the end he's actually making about what a full-time employee would make
> at $40/hr once he pays for the costs of doing business and general overhead.
> 
> Yes, you can hire someone offshore for a lot less, and there are cases where
> that can be a win, and other cases where that can be a disaster.

As always, you usually get what you pay for.

bill