Robert Lunn <PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU> wrote:

> One of the distinctions to keep in mind in this discussion is that
> between a contractor and a contracting business.

    Hmm... I guess the distinction mirrors the one I mentioned
    earlier, between a "Program" and a "Programming Systems Product".

> Andy Warren runs a business.  His clients, naturally, expect that
> business to be run in a business-like way.  This is because they
> want Andy to be there in the long term, and they know what it takes
> for a business to survive.
>
> Many programmers and engineers do contract work.  Their methods and
> procedures are often much more casual.

    Robert is, of course, absolutely correct.

    I should have made this distinction myself, in the original
    message I posted... My apologies to anyone who was overwhelmed by
    my description of a consultant's job.

    Hamilton seemed interested in just getting a survey of what
    people were charging, rather than in reading a long dissertation
    on (or discussion of) the perils and pitfalls of running a
    consulting business, so...

    Around here, experienced engineers who do contract work (usually
    moonlighting from their day job) get between $30 and $60 per
    hour.

    The $30 guys get a lot more work than the $60 guys... It's hard
    for many clients to justify paying $60/hour to someone who can
    only work evenings and weekends, especially since they know he
    might just quit halfway through their project, since he always
    has his day job to fall back on.

    -Andy

=== Andrew Warren - fastfwd@ix.netcom.com                 ===
=== Fast Forward Engineering - Vista, California          ===
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