My experience is 2080 hours is the 40 X 52 figure that needs to be trimmed to 1800. Now take out about half of that to attend to your accounting, sales (no money made for presentations and meeting prospective customers) and mending your own network and finally honing those new skills. Now a $60,000 worker does not have travel time on his time several times a day. He does not keep a track of his income and expenses and do all the accounting required for a business. On the budget side you need to add $2000 or $3000 for a yellow pages add, connectivity cell phone attorney's fees accountant mileage on your car office space equipment, ETC, ETC. $60,000 6,000 10% for unemployment SSE ETC 6000 401 with matching 12,000 for office space, phone, lights, air..... 5000 milage on your car 3000 training..... Shall I go on? We are at $92,000. If I can bill 4 hours a day for 220 days a year that is 880 hours a year of billing. 92,000 / 880 = $104.55 an hour. just to make $60,000 a year with much more headaches! And I forgot the $4,000 to $6,000 a year you will spend on equipment, and advertising costs. Now what is your risk worth? What about your return on your investment? Are you in business to make a profit or because you like the lifestyle? Don't forgit you need to know a lot more because you just became a one man band! Keith PS you are right, $100 an hour is HIGHWAY robbery. They are robbing from you. It is still too low! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Message: 8 Date: Tue, 05 Mar 2002 08:07:23 -0700 From: "Derek A. Neighbors" To: plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us Subject: Re: Consulting Fees Reply-To: plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us Just in case no one has done the math 60,000 / 2080 (hours) = 28.85 Now of course there are things like a normal employers benefits (and their tax contribution to factor in)  So say you figure in 10,000 for benefits and lump 10% for tax contribution and you are at 77,000 a year add another 10% for office supplies space etc... and you are at 84,000. The other way is when you hire someone you figure 30% of salary will be needed so if the salary is 60,000 72,000 would be the outcome so the above of 84,000 is pretty high. 84,000 / 2080 (hours) = 40.38 So I am curious to those that give consultants a bad name buy wanting 100 plus an hour.  Do you really think that 60,000 is paltry salary, or do you expect companies to burden your time without work? Based on these numbers anything more than 80 an hour is HIGHWAY robbery.  As you would only be working half a year to earn 60,000 or if working a full year making 120,000 with full benefits etc included in the calculation.  I just ask that you re-evaluate bagging on 'the microsoft tax' if you are charging more than 80 an hour and ask are you charging 'the consultant tax'? ;) -Derek ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^