Mathematical, Programming, Neuroimaging Consulting and Contracting.
How did I come up with the seemingly arbitrary figure of $100/hr? As follows:
1) Calculate Billable Hours per Year
52 weeks/year - 6 weeks vacation and sick leave = 46 weeks
46 weeks x 40 hrs/week = 1840 available working hours
100% possible hours
- 20% spent on administration, running errands, paperwork, etc
- 20% spent on marketing, networking events, website management, etc
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60% spent actually working for pay
1840 hours x 60% utiliization rate = 1104 billable hours per year
2) Account for Bad Debt
Despite the best intentions of all parties involved, sometimes the work gets done but I won't get paid.
Collection Rate: 95%
1104 hours x 95% = 1049 hours
3) Compute Rate based on Expected Salary
$60,000 base salary + $15,000 in benefits = $75,000 salary
Salary / Billable Hours = Hourly Consulting Fee
$75,000 salary / 1049 billable hours = $71.50/hr
4) Overhead Associated with Billable Work
- $6000/yr additional rent/mortgage: Home must have a dedicated office.
- $1200/yr 1/3 utilities (water, gas, electricity, internet, phone, cel)
- $1200/yr office maintenance and upkeep
- $7000/yr computer equipment and maintenance: my computing needs will be significant.
- $2000/yr software (Matlab, Word, etc.)
- $1000/yr office supplies and furniture
- $1000/yr advertising, marketing, professional associations, subscriptions
$19,400 / 1049 billable hours = $18.50/hr
$71.50/hr + $18.50/hr = $90/hr
6) Profit Margin and Consulting Fee
As a consultant I'm taking a risk in running my own business. The typical consulting fee is 10%-33% of the final rate.
Consulting Fee: 10%
$90/hr + $90/hr x 0.10 = $99/hr
Which I rounded up to $100/hr.
These rates were arrived at by an optimistic interpretation of how long it has taken me to perform those tasks in the past, multiplied by my hourly rate. At first glance these rates might look high. But consider the length of time it will take a graduate student, a post-doc, or yourself to accomplish these tasks and multiply that time by the respective salary. One bug can easily set someone back a week. Importing your data into EEGLAB or Matlab might set you back a month. A grad student can easily spend over a year analyzing data from one experiment. I can identify most bugs in easily under one hour, import data in hours to a few days, and sift through the data in two to three months.
I am an expert at these tasks. Not only do I have a broad range of experience in performing them, I've helped write the code that is doing it. If there isn't an import function for your data I'll make one. If there's a bug I'll fix it or get around it. If the documentation isn't clear I'll figure out what to do by reading the code.
There is no long-term commitment in retaining my services. You don't have find me a desk, a computer, or wait for me to settle in. But when you do need it, you can count on a nearly instant response. If you're stuck I'll get you moving. If you're confused I'll coach you through it. And if you give me your data I'll process it faster, more accurately, and cheaper than any other option available.
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N.B. This is a new business and is subject to change and refinement.
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