Independent Consultant Contract Rates

Submitted by loonlaugh t3_120lqz8 in washingtondc

I know that this town is full of people working for themselves as consultants. What are you charging, hourly and by project? (Yes, I realize this will have a great range depending on experience, connections, project type, customer base/topic area.) I'm trying to get a better understanding of the current rates here in town...and possibly a sanity check.

While I'm looking for all fields and topics, I'm especially interested in strategy/comms/policy in the science/tech/manufacturing/innovation/energy/environment/conservation/education sectors. Thanks!

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loonlaugh OP t1_jdi0itv wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#2,336,223)

It was unnecessarily mean to call it a "dumb" question, when I qualified the initial post with the notion that there'd be quite a range due to a large variety of variables at play. :( Knowing this question would elicit snarky commentary and a large range of data (and potentially unhelpful), I intentionally posted it anyway with the hope I may tease out some useful trends and discover useful information, and other readers might even reconsider their current rate.

That being said, I do sincerely and greatly appreciate you sharing your rates, along with your opinion based on your experience doing this kind of work. Your 25% rule is also a good lens of consideration. And you're a champ to provide supporting info to help readers script from.

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loonlaugh OP t1_jdidw68 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#2,337,664)

You are assuming only early career folks would ask a question like this. I'm not.

There are many other reasons that someone would ask this question and would ask it here rather than google. Senior professionals change portfolios/jobs/sectors, senior professionals unfamiliar with going contract rates might want to confirm information before accepting a bid or finalizing their own proposal, SES moving out of the gov't, human resources at smaller companies/organizations might gather local rate information if their budget doesn't allow for a benchmark study, senior professionals having worked entirely in one sector and moving to consulting might not have rate info, or have moved cities and want local rate info ...the list goes on and on. Your assumption that anyone asking questions must be early career is a concerning indicator of senior staff you've been exposed to. Senior professionals don't know everything about everything and asking questions is not a sign of unintelligence, weakness, seniority, etc. We should all value questions and questioners, because the alternative is a bunch of uninformed people making decisions on who-knows-what!

The whole point of local subreddits is to build community and to lean on the shared experience and knowledge of that community. If a certain topic makes you "want to blow my brains out," please don't respond. I imagine that's a horrible way to feel and you shouldn't subject yourself to it - scroll by. I hope you don't blow your brains out, that would be a loss for our community.

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loonlaugh OP t1_jdihx8g wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#2,338,286)

We're not arguing. We're having a discussion. Career advice subreddits don't have the benefit of locally-based knowledge and experience that the local subs (such as this one) offer. Consultant contract rate information from Houston, San Diego, Myrtle Beach, Hiawasee, etc. isn't going to be relevant here. That's why people turn to the local subs, for the local experience and knowledge. The fact that you provided solid information on the topic, through the local lens, supports this approach.

You're a good human being, take it easy on yourself (and others).

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Cool_Story_Bra t1_jdituzi wrote

My billing rate is ~20-40k/week. At my last job it was about 3k/week.

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Skroob4Prez t1_jdj1i6j wrote

I've done some side consulting work on the public policy side of things. $100-150/HR.

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Skroob4Prez t1_jdj1wew wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#2,337,664)

Wow, didn't know you were the arbiter of the kind of help people could ask for here. Great to know!

If it makes you want to "blow your brains out" that someone new to the city or a career here has questions, you can always unsubscribe and avoid that!

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tirefires t1_jdjkvqp wrote

Hey guys, just a reminder that discussing fees/pricing among competitors can be seen as illegal price fixing. You need to figure out your cost of doing business and price your time accordingly without outside input.

https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/dealings-competitors/price-fixing

>Antitrust scrutiny may occur when competitors discuss the following topics:
>
>*Present or future prices
>
>*Pricing policies
>
>*Promotions
>
>*Bids
>
>*Costs
>
>*Capacity
>
>*Terms or conditions of sale, including credit terms
>
>*Discounts
>
>*Identity of customers
>
>*Allocation of customers or sales areas
>
>*Production quotas
>
>*R&D plans

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Appropriate-Ad-4148 t1_jdlul8l wrote

Typically pay $60-$100 per hour based on their experience/past performance and how urgent the project is for Comms contractors.

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