throwawayy2018

I think your assumption is wrong.

Making $200-300k as a self-employed software engineer requires a completely different skillset than getting and maintaining a job at a FAANG. The roles have very little carry over.

I made ~$400k last year (in cash) as a self-employed engineer. I work maybe 20 hours a week. I would hardly say that getting here was non trivial, but I'd hardly say it's trivial to get a job at a FAANG either.

$300 / hour

Not at all. I've been at this for a while, so most of my work comes from previous clients or others in my network. It took a while to build that up, but now that it's in place, it's a pretty steady source of work.

Most people who are referred to me know what I charge, so there's not much haggling. People want results and I have a reputation for delivering them.

Thanks! Good question.

Most of my inbound comes through referrals. I've been at this for about 8 years, so my referral network is pretty healthy. First few years were rough though!

In general, the real "trick" to a successful network (as least for me) is just to be friendly and do good work. Lots of coffee meetings, phone calls, and lunches. :)

FWIW, I charge $300 / hr as a mobile/full stack developer (and I'm based in TX). My clients are mostly startups. I have more work than I know what to do with, and have for quite a while.

Probably raising my rate to $350 soon.