[thelist] re:site price help

[Madhu Menon]

At 06:57 PM 7/18/00 -0500, you wrote:
>There are similar resources... I remember something published on
>ZDNet at one time.  A 'net search might turn something up.

OK, OK. You want to know how much you're worth if you're a Microsoft 
platform person? Head to http://www.cybercoders.com and fill out your 
profile and expertise. It'll tell you what you're worth per year. Of 
course, I'm talkin' full time jobs, not freelance stuff.

BTW, if you're charging $50 per hour, Indian companies have you licked :)
The (relatively) lower cost of labour here and the higher purchasing power 
of our currency allows us to quote a lot less.
Could explain why so much software in the USA is done by Indian software 
companies. :P

(Not meant as flame bait. Honest. Merely fact.)

Seriously, I consider it not very useful to discuss pricing on such 
heterogeneous (wow, what a big word) lists as Evolt. We've got people from 
USA, Israel, Sweden, Germany, Israel, NZ, and who knows how many countries 
with varying skills, expertise, and experience. Therefore:

1) I don't know how good you are, so can't comment on how well you can do 
the job or how long it would take you. Something that takes me 1 hour could 
take you 5 hours, and vice versa. How much you charge DOES depend upon 
this. For example, Rudy Limeback can probably charge more than Joe DBA 
'cause he's been doing it for 20 years :) (Right, Rudy?)

2) You live in a different state/ country and currencies/ purchasing power 
varies WIDELY. For example, a $100,000 a year job in USA would pay about 
$14,000 a year (yes, that's fourteen thousand) here in India. But my money 
can buy more than yours.

3) Pricing is not just a function of the effort you put in, but also of the 
demand and supply equation in your part of the world. If there's a shortage 
of talent where you live, you could get away with charging a lot more.

4) Not that American anti-trust laws matter to me or affect me (or other 
non-Americans), but why risk it? Remember the woman who sued McDonalds for 
serving hot coffee that burnt her (and won the case)? Says much of what the 
"justice system" can do.

I'd like to conclude with a quote (I forgot who said it): "The product is 
worth whatever the customer is willing to pay for it" (or something to that 
effect.)

Definitely more than $0.02 (which, incidentally, can buy you a stick of 
bubble gum here in India ;)

Cheers,

Madhu

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Madhu Menon
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