I don’t believe I’m being paid for the lines of code I write. I’m
being
paid to:
Design the best solution that most closely fits the client’s needs
Create robust, extensible, testable systems that perform to the
client’s specs
Do so in a timely manner
Absolutely!
My clients don’t care if I code in assembly language. They trust me to
pick the best combination of platform and technology, development
tools,
and related technologies (i.e. source code control, deployment).
Mine too.
Does anyone really feel they are being paid less because they are
using
Ruby or Rails? I find I am implementing more and cooler features and
having more fun with it. I have happier clients. They are having fun
with it. Happier clients tell other people who then become happy
clients.
Well, I’ll say this. From my perspective a majority of people that are
looking for Rails programmers right now aren’t willing to pay top
dollar.
It seems that the excitement of the quick development cycle has
magically
transformed itself into a “Rails is Cheaper” mentality right now.
I agree with the poster who said charge your usual rates. What you
bring
to the table is your intellect, your design skill, and your unique
knowledge of the available technologies. You use these to do far more
than cut code.
Anyhow, if you finish early, sign up the next client
We’re in total agreement. The key is getting the right client, rather
than having them find you…and isn’t that really always the case?
freedom to select and implement the appropriate solution.
I agree. An even better (b) is: make very frequent progress – end of
story. Deploy new, usable functionality to the client every few
weeks. Make it clear from the start of the project that the client
can walk away at any point with a working product. If a client sees
continual return on their investment, they will feel that they are in
control (they ARE in control) and be glad to continue to invest in
your work.
Alright, I’ll open the bidding, by saying what I am charging. I am
British but live in Canada. I have asked for and receive $100 / hour
for my coding. That said, two factors and one additional piece of
information.
I find this thread fascinating, not so much because it is ruby flavored,
but because it has renewed my hope of returning to contract programming.
I was considering doing just that a few months back and looked at some
of the online contract bidding sites like Elance.com and was absolutely
appalled by what people were bidding for large projects.
It seemed from that small bit of research that people in developing
countries were flooding the market with bids that seem insanely low to
someone from the U.S. I simply couldn’t live on what people were
bidding for projects there. Basically like $5/hr or even less!
Are there better places to look for projects that will pull “normal”
programmer rates? I just figured that the world had changed (for the
worse) during the seven or eight years I was away from this game. Where
would you go to look for people willing to pay a seasoned
programmer/engineer $50/hr or more for contract software work (rails or
otherwise)?
Well, it’s more art than science. If you’ve got the coding experience
to tackle the project, you have the experience to estimate it.
“Go live by date X.” Say that’s five months from now. From the
requirements and your experience, you should be able to say that it’s
probably a one-, three-, six-, or twelve-month project.
Make your best guess. Spend your energy defining early deliverables
(creative thinking required here). Present your proposal and yourself
professionally. If you think the client’s goals are unrealistic, tell
them why. Help them with alternatives.
Once you get started on the project – unless it’s different than
every other project I’ve worked on – the product, the date, and the
user audience will change. This is a good thing. Better to find out
at the beginning and demonstrate your flexibility and skill, then to
find out two angry weeks before launch. It’s very, very hard to
precisely estimate and plan long-term software projects. It’s much
easier to tackle small parts of a big project and build a
relationship with the client.
Now, as I type all these nice generalities, I can think of many
specific problems. I am sure you can, too! At least with early
deliveries, you discover the problems early when they are cheaper to
fix.
Unfortunately, if you have to ask where to find those jobs, you probably
won’t be able to get them. In my experience, clients are only willing to
pay
a good rate (lets say $80+ per hour) for people they actually know will
be
good. How do they know? From previous experiences, or recommendations
from
other contractors they know. That’s how I’ve gotten all of my contract
positions.
My answer is similar to Andrew’s: my current rate using one of The Other
Technologies is in that range, but I’m working for an old co-worker who
founded his own company.
I think that’s one benefit of working full-time–you get to know people
in your community and if they like working with you (talent is often of
lesser importance), sooner or later your phone’s going to ring.
So I’m a subcontractor, and that’s why I’m curious about subcontractor
rates. End-user clients may not care about the technology and your
earnings are largely based on what they can afford, but I believe the
situation is somewhat different in the subcontractor world because
you’re dealing with clients who are themselves developers.
BTW I’m impressed with the polite tone of the posts here. Where are all
the angry people? I hope the Ruby community’s as nice as it seems.
