Hourly Rate
Out of context: Reply #44
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- Mr_Right0
I had mentioned in an earlier post that I needed to "up my rates" based on what I was reading here. But just for the sake of full disclosure I charge $50/hr, for design or production. I have been a freelancer for 12 years now. I generally make about 60,000 a year.
I have charged more at times, usually when a client just wants a bottom line cost for doing a project. There's a psychology to money in that $50/hr sounds more expensive than $3000 for a project for some clients.
The reason I have freelanced for so long is simple: Once you start making freelance money it's hard to take a cut in pay to work full time. Most of the full-time positions I run across are around 10 to 15 thousand less per year than what I make as a freelancer. It is what it is.
Also, I know that hourly rates are all over the board, but I have found in general, freelancers who charge top dollar don't seem to last very long as freelancers. Maybe one or two years. I think its because those high rates are hard to sustain, you may have a client that pays $100/hr but the client sooner or later will find out I charge $50, and if both offer the same quality work... well.
Economics will always rule.
Just my 5000ยข