Another "what would you charge" post

[proletariat]

I currently do side work for a one-man land development engineer as a contract / hourly employee. No benefits, insurance, etc. My real job handles all of that.

I do the stormwater calculations for the sites he is working on.

I'm a PE for about 10 years now.

I'm new to the geographic area, so I am a little "higher maintenance" than someone who has done work in the area for years and years. i.e., requiring help to get up to speed on the ins and outs of the accepted stormwater laws practices around here. This should resolve itself in the next six months.

He does not provide insurance.

He does provide all the engineering software.

I work from home at night, with occasional meetings at his office.

I provide my own computer and have his software loaded on it. We use portable licenses that can be checked in and out.

I currently charge $35/hour for this and work about 12 hours per week (I needed the money at the time, so I didn't want to charge too much).

I wouldn't raise rates on him until probably at least six months or a year from now. Just curious what other contract employees would charge; or what other business owners would expect to pay in this situation.

 

[proletariat]

I should also add that I don't seal anything or take responsible charge for anything. I also don't buy my own insurance.

 

[zdas04]

If I have to stamp/seal a stormwater plan or an SPCC plan I charge my full $180/hour rate for all the work. For drafting services I have been willing to pay $35/hour. When I need Engineering services (like GeoTech) I pay what the guy charges (the last one charged me $225/hr for his time, and his drilling truck/helper had their own charge rates. What you are doing is somewhere in the middle. I wouldn't pay a PE to develop a stormwater plan unless he stamped it (at that point you really must have insurance). What you are doing is somewhere between a draftsman and what I charge, but since I would have to stamp your work I'd have to treat it as preliminary and redo most of it myself. My feeling is that you are a touch underpaid, but not more than 10-15%. Being willing to use your stamp would change the ballpark pretty dramatically.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

"Belief" is the acceptance of an hypotheses in the absence of data.
"Prejudice" is having an opinion not supported by the preponderance of the data.
"Knowledge" is only found through the accumulation and analysis of data.
The plural of anecdote is not "data"

 

[77JQX]

I was in the same place with an ex-employer. Like you, I didn't stamp anything, and didn't carry any insurance (but we had a contract that said I was covered under his insurance). I charged $75/hour, and he billed his customers for more than that (I don't remember what) for my time, plus his time to review and stamp my work. Just like would have happened if I was still an employee and he was the PM. This worked out well for us until the economy nose-dived.

Don't sell yourself short - you're a PE with 10 years experience, available at his beck and call. You're not collecting any benefits, you don't impact any payroll taxes, and you're 100% billable. I'd ask for at least what he'd pay (plus benefits) on the open market for a full time emloyee.

 

[casseopeia]

I just interviewed for an Independent Contractor position that pays about $45/hour with the expectation of 5-10 additional UNPAID hours per week, 1099, no benefits, and government rate for milage to jobsite from office. With that amount of unpaid overtime, I'd be working for about $35/hour. So I guess you are in the ball park of what is being offered. Is it adequate. I personally do not think so. I would expect a minimum of $75/hour as a professional. But it's where the economy is right now.

If you are offended by the things I say, imagine the stuff I hold back.

 

[gte447f]

I agree with 77JQX; "I'd ask for at least what he'd pay (plus benefits) on the open market for a full time employee". General rules of thumb for this that I am aware of are direct labor rate plus 20%-30%.

 

[oldrunner]

Do you know what he is charging you out for?

One time I had a agreement for $100/hour and a verbal guarantee of 20 hours per week with a construction defects firm. That's a pretty good income for part time work. But I am careful and check my stuff - and the client started to complain because his clients were complaining. Turn out he was charging them $300/hour (all litigation type stuff). Eventually we parted ways. I am registered and was providing my own insurance.

 

[proletariat]

It sounds like $40/hr is about right. Given that I'm still getting up to speed on the local regs, $35 is pretty fair. I'll probably up my rate to $40 at the beginning of 2014 if we're still working together. I don't need this work anymore, so it needs to be worthwhile to me to continue on with it.

 

[casseopeia]

oldrunner, in the litigation field here in CA, they are all complaining. It seems that it started about 2007. It used to be that with class action lawsuits, the various experts looked at each (or at least the vast majority) of individuals in the case. Then they cut back to just a low percentage, then it was cut back to a couple of homes in a case that included 100, and that's all you got. I was asked to draw broad sweeping conclusions on very little data. No one was happy. But it was good money for a bit and I worked full time for a firm. People that free-lanced were hit much harder. I'm in the free-lance position now and the market is a different place that it was. There was a time when I would not walk out the door for less than $150/hour. Not any more.



If you are offended by the things I say, imagine the stuff I hold back.

 

[77JQX]

Proletariat: You said "I don't need this work anymore, so it needs to be worthwhile to me to continue on with it." Then I'd ask for 1.5X my regular day job. That would motivate me to see the extra work as rewarding, rather than a dreary obligation. If they turn you down, what have you lost? And if they agree, it's a win-win.

 

[debodine]

casseopeia, I may have missed it previously but I don't remember seeing your tagline "If you are offended by the things I say, imagine the stuff I hold back" before. But I saw it today and I really like it!

 

[beej67]

If you did this work for another reasonably sized engineering firm, they'd bill you at $100/hr or more. As a contractor you aught to be paid at least half that. 100% markup is generous enough, ask for at *least* $50/hr, but only charge for "productive" time, and charge more if you're stamping the work and he's not engineer of record on the stuff you're doing.

If you're stamping your work (actually even if you're not, depending on how clear your contract is) you need to carry professional liability insurance, and that costs money.



Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -

http://www.campbellcivil.com

 

[Ron]

Beej67 is on the right track. At least 50% of what they are charging your time to the clients. If you charge low rates you'll get stuck with low rates for a long time!

In general...
No benefits, no sealing....50 to 60% of charge rate
No benefits, sealing....indemnification + 67 to 75 % of charge rate
Benefits (employed)..... 25 to 33% of charge rate

 

[DHambley]

1099, part time, no insurance, no benefits: $85 to $125 is what I have charged for similar situations. The shorter the time duration, the higher the rate to account for my own bidding and research time. $35 seems awfully low for a PE.