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Comment by jdavis703 | Hacker News Reader

This is true in certain cases, but not all. I just offered an unemployed family member (and recent computer science grad) a freelance opportunity worth $100 an hour to build out a simple e-commerce site. They didn't want the work.

I think part of the problem is that you can have a lot of "fun" these days for very cheap (video games, YouTube, etc). Maybe it's time for us to reexamine why people don't even want high-paying jobs.

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Its all fun and games until you have a family...then it is difficult to have 3 roommates to an apartment, you have massive healthcare premiums, deductibles and you find that 70% of the tech jobs are in a metro area where your salary doesn't pay for more than a 1br apt for your family.

...but yes, our entertainment costs are fairly inexpensive. Too bad there are so many other things to pay for.

> then it is difficult to have 3 roommates to an apartment

Well technically you still have the roommates, they just make a mess everywhere and you have to cover their rent every month.

This.

Now i'm divorced, but I got to keep the rent controlled apartment in Russian Hill, with the roommates. Ex and kid moved to Sacramento and commutes in to her grad school classes at SF State.

"I'll pay you $100/hr but the whole budget is 5 hours"

Is there a word for laugh-cringing..? So spot on.

I'm in a pretty small secondary market and was recently advised by someone who knows what he is talking about to never accept less than $200/hr for contract work. That is the going rate around here and accepting less signals that you don't know what you are doing.

Perhaps the $100/hr isn't as much as you think it is. More so if you are somewhere expensive like San Francisco or New York.

Many shops I know that charge $200/hr charge $200/hr to a customer and pay a developer $50/hr and then proceed to subtract value from the project because of agency considerations.

Can you hint at your market? I'm in a sizable market and my competitors are in the 125-150 range. I think I produce better work, but my first few major projects that lasted a few years are only now winding down and I'm out seeking new work. I'd like to experiment with different pricing strategies with the positive reputation I've accumulated.

I'm in Richmond VA.

Care to share which secondary market you're in?

>why people don't even want high-paying jobs.

I'm gonna guess there's two sides to that story

It's entirely possible this person just felt like they have other, better, options. Maybe they don't want to be a web dev, maybe they want regular work vs the uncertainty of consulting, maybe they felt like they weren't up to the job.

> I think part of the problem is that you can have a lot of "fun" these days for very cheap (video games, YouTube, etc).

Not even really sure what that means? Isn't this like talking about pro athletes or rock stars?

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