this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2023
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Negotiating a rate for contract work? (programming.dev)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by sunshine12873@programming.dev to c/experienced_devs@programming.dev
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I am considering taking a contract software engineering role with a company I am excited about. We are in the final stages of the interview process, and they are pressuring me for a rate. When they first asked me for a rate, I asked whether they have a typical rate that they pay contractors and they said yes, "based on experience", but did not disclose the rate. I have no idea how they are intending to level me and am confused as to why they are asking me for my rate if they have a standard contractor rate. Would welcome any advice about how to proceed.

Edit: to clarify, I'd like help with how to ask them to tell me their usual contractor rate

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[โ€“] jeff@programming.dev 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Edit: to clarify, I'd like help with how to ask them to tell me their usual contractor rate

You ask them and then they will tell you or not. If the say "based on experience", then ask for a range for an engineer with your similar experience.

They might not want to tell you. They want to get you for as cheap as possible, which is way everyone on this thread is telling you how to estimate a rate.

You might be able to find other contractors for them on LinkedIn and ask them, but they are also unlikely to tell you and might inform their client that you did it.

[โ€“] sunshine12873@programming.dev 1 points 1 year ago

The issue is that there is a very wide range of rates for a contract software engineer, not just based on level, but also based on where the company is located, how large they are, etc. etc. That is why I would like to at least get a sense of how they intend to level me and what their usual range is before giving a rate.

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