Computer Programmer: Salary vs. Hourly

[orkut]

For a computer programmer, what's the percentage difference between the salary for a permanent employee, converted to an hourly rate, and the hourly rate of a contractor?

Also please give some examples like:

For a permanent position with a pay of $50,000, the hourly equivalent for a contractor is ___________.

thanks.

 

[papasmerf]

If you are INVENTING something new?

Sell it

 

[Papi Chulo]

I thought computer programmers needed to have basic math skills

 

[C Dick]

I would think for a decent size contract, without a lot of selling or unbillable time, that double the rate would be reasonable for a contractor. So the $50,000 per year guy would initially contract for $50 per hour.

 

[canucklehead]

I bill 150 an hour working on my own for Apple Consulting work which includes Perl BASH PHP MySQL Ruby Python and WEB Objects.
I have been offered fulltime but never at my rate...... Always in the 65 to 85 range. I usually bill that quarterly.
Contractors and consultant generally from what i have found get paid more then the usual salary guy.

 

[orkut]

I bill 150 an hour working on my own for Apple Consulting work which includes Perl BASH PHP MySQL Ruby Python and WEB Objects.
I have been offered fulltime but never at my rate...... Always in the 65 to 85 range. I usually bill that quarterly.
Contractors and consultant generally from what i have found get paid more then the usual salary guy.

What's the difference between contractors and consultants?

 

[canucklehead]

Sometimes as a consultant i will be pulled in only for one or two weeks without a definitive block of time purchased where on contract i will be paid a flat amount or minimum for a set period of time.
Often as a consultant i am not actually doing the work but managing the project with my own input and suggestions. This never really happens as i always seem to get my hands dirty.

 

[Meister]

I bill 150 an hour working on my own for Apple Consulting work which includes Perl BASH PHP MySQL Ruby Python and WEB Objects.
I have been offered fulltime but never at my rate...... Always in the 65 to 85 range. I usually bill that quarterly.
Contractors and consultant generally from what i have found get paid more then the usual salary guy.

You will always get more as a contractor because you don't have the job security, benefits etc....

 

[Mcluhan]

Definitions

What's the difference between contractors and consultants?

A contractor does the work, and gets paid on performance (if the client is wise).

A consultant is a guy with a briefcase from outta town. He used to have a job in the field. Now he is unemployed and offering expertise for hire.

 

[Fork Master]

All Computer Programming "work" is worthy of $5/hr, Maximum

 

[Gyaos]

I bill 150 an hour working on my own for Apple Consulting work which includes Perl BASH PHP MySQL Ruby Python and WEB Objects.

Here comes India and China for $1.50 an hour.

 

[fuji]

Interestingly, job growth in IT has outpaced outsourcing, so even though 3% of IT jobs have gone overseas each year, more than 3% new jobs have been created and so there is still a labour shortage. Not sure how long that can be sustained.

 

[Meister]

Interestingly, job growth in IT has outpaced outsourcing, so even though 3% of IT jobs have gone overseas each year, more than 3% new jobs have been created and so there is still a labour shortage. Not sure how long that can be sustained.

Most of the IT growth is not in programming, but in implementing, fixing and maintaining. Coding is definitely Indian territory.

 

[C Dick]

I think that even coding is growing here, even though lots is going off-shore. A buddy of mine does web-sites, in general, we gets the work done in India, but he always has things he is doing here, because he needs it right away, or the Indian guys would be offended, or he did the earlier work, etc. Compared to a year ago, he is doing just as much coding as before, but the output is greater because the Indian guys are producing for him also. So the nature of what gets coded here changes somewhat, but there is still high demand for people in Canada who can code, and also understand business and can communicate.

 

[canucklehead]

Here comes India and China for $1.50 an hour.

I have had nothing but growth and added 3 guys to the team in the last 2 years.

 

[MathewH]

I was a senior systems engineer at a large software company for 10+ years... average salary for the position is 80K-100K. As a contractor, I bill out at $80-$120 per hour. Part of the justification of my rates though, is that I compete with my former company's consultants, who bill at $120-$150 per hour.