[consulting] Salaries

[Chuck D'Antonio]

Agreed on the 70% -- sounds outstanding for a contractor who's  
handling on their business development opportunities in addition to  
technical work.  Within a consulting firm I've always planned on  
70-80% utilization for a "heads down" type role and 50%-60% for a role  
that is involved in building the business.

In my previous position, I interview a lot of people who were moving  
from independent contracting.  One thing that was similar about them  
was that they were typically on the older side of the candidate pool  
(primarily over 40).  I found that benefits (retirement and health  
insurance, primarily) were at the top of the list for reasons to join  
a company.

One way to think about it is the "fully loaded" cost of an employee --  
I typically use a 40% uplift to budget for an employee.  If you're  
pulling in $115K a year as a contractor, then to cover these expense  
at the same level a company does you'd really be paying yourself less  
than $85K.

Chuck

On Sep 16, 2008, at 4:02 PM, Dave Terry wrote:

> Hi Fred,
> We can talk offline about this, but here are some things to consider:
> * Who pays your taxes when you are consulting?
> * Who handles your health insurance?
> * Do you go on vacations?
> * What happens when you get sick or come down with a short/long term
> disability?
> * Do you attend training events/Drupalcons?
> * Do you defer money towards a savings plan?
> * Do you go on interviews or how much non-billable time do you  
> spending
> sending out your resume or marketing your services?
> * Do you work or get paid on holidays?
> * Who handles the administrative duties of your consultancy?
>
> Anyway, I'm not trying to come down like I'm against freelancing,  
> but these
> types of factors must be considered when doing an apples to apples
> comparison of FT v. contract employment.  For what it's worth, I  
> grew and
> sold a staffing firm in Atlanta before getting involved with a  
> Drupal shop
> with a lifelong friend (that's another story in itself :-). If a  
> consultant
> was able to maintain a 70% utilization based on a 2080 hour (52  
> weeks x
> 40/hours) year then that was considered pretty good.
>
> Hope this helps,
> Dave
> dave.terry at mediacurrent.com
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: consulting-bounces at drupal.org [mailto:consulting-bounces at drupal.org 
> ]
> On Behalf Of Fred Jones
> Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2008 2:40 PM
> To: A list for Drupal consultants and Drupal service/hosting providers
> Subject: Re: [consulting] Salaries
>
>> I'm brushing with a wide stroke I know, but as a general rule you  
>> can take
>> whatever your hourly rate may be as a contractor and use that same  
>> number
> as
>> a W-2 salaried employee.  For example, if your freelance rate is  
>> $60/hr
> you
>> can expect around 60K w/benefits as a FT employee at a company.
>
> Really? Because if I do $60 an hour I can net $115K, just based on 40
> hours a week and 48 such weeks in a year. Presuming I can get 40
> billable hours a week.
>
>> Well said, I agree with you, but just to clarify you're always  
>> picking up
>> new skills for your toolbox when you roll off a project, but also  
>> having
> to
>> focus on identifying your next gig (which can be feast or famine at
> times).
>
> Precisely. Can even be both at the same time sometimes. ;)
>
> Fred
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Chuck D'Antonio
Sr. Director Professional Services
Acquia, Inc.
Mobile +1.617.388.1120