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Comment by 31reasons | Hacker News Reader

I charge $100/hour and I had extremely hard time finding work for last two years. Primarily because most client's think I charge way too much. I live in Los Angeles! Last year I worked at a mid-size multinational tech company as iOS developer at a $700/Day rate. The manager probably told me 100 times that I am very expensive and they have to let me go after project is over. I am not sure if companies are spoiled by offshore low rates or something else is going on. If Plumbers are making $100/hour, why do they think Software Developers should be cheaper than that!

As a freelancer , after making 1/4 of what I can make as Full-time developer I am going back to the full-time Job.

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If they have to let you go after the project is over - that's obvious, that's kind of the expected result of a successful consulting or freelance project.

If they complain that you're very expensive - that's also reasonable; if they wouldn't be complaining then that would be serious evidence that you're not charging as much as you can/should.

The pricing logic is simple - customers don't buy = too much; customers don't complain = too little; customers buy but complain about price = price is just right. This is the same across industries, no matter if you're selling IT services, potatoes, cars or haircuts.

I've always wondered why freelance developers compare to plumbers/electricians. You will hire the plumber for 3-4 hours of work and that's it - he'll be on his way. But we will be there for days/weeks/months.

I agree in charging as much as you want if you can solve a problem noone else can. In ~2002 a company had serious database issues with reporting queries running for over 24 hours. So they hired 2 people who charged 600 pounds each an hour. They both worked on the problem for 2 days and brought down the execution time to 3 minutes. In that case yeah, I think they can charge as much as they want.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a developer as well and I know the difference between a 40/h and a 80/h developer. But I believe an hourly rate must depend on how long you'll be working on that project, what you'll be doing as well and how critical it is.

Did you read the blog the original commenter wrote ? I was responding to that blog.

$/unit-of-time rates are always going to be seen as expensive by many clients. Charge by value. Plumbers are worth what they charge because of the value of stopping the shit overflowing onto the floor.

The other thing to keep in mind is that software developers, especially mobile and web, are making easy money. Naturally this is attracting a lot more people to the field, which by simple supply/demand economics will cause average compensation to decline. Clients will compare your hourly rate to these "averages" and question why you are so expensive. If you bid projects based on an understanding of the value the client perceives in the project, the client will feel more comfortable with what they are paying and also be unable to directly compare it to anything other than competitive bids for that specific project.

Well its hard to explain value when you can't put it in numbers. Web developers/SEO consultants can easily calculate their contribution by increase traffic. What can an iOS developer do ? Most of my work goes inside an App making it highly robust and smooth performance. But you can't put a number on it. People don't appreciate contributions that stop bad things from happening rather than creating visibly good things.

That's strange, a rate of $700/day makes a salary of roughly 170k/year, which I suppose if above average for Los Angeles, without being exceptional. Since he's not gonna employ you for 1 year, it seems to me pretty a pretty fair rate you are charging.

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