Let's say that you had a unique skill set, one that gets you paid $50,000/year. If you decided to leave your field but be willing to take occasional consultant gigs, how should you charge for it?
If it were me, I would take my hourly rate, say, $25/hr, and use that as a benchmark and then move that number up and down as I felt like it. It seems to me that it would be okay to bump it up a little bit, say $40-50/hr just to make it worth your time (if, for instance, you had decided to take a job in another field and would be using your spare time to take the consulting gig.)
But that's probably foolish, and why I would starve quickly if I were a consultant. So, readers, if you're a consultant, how should you charge for your services?
I've used a chemistry/chemistry-related consultant for regulatory affairs, once, where thewhite knight life saver gentleman in question charged $80/hr, but I suspect he was cutting us a break. (This was a lifetime of experience that he was charging for, mind you.)
UPDATE: Let's just say that the comments are in agreement that my suggested rate is far too low. You should read them, and ignore me.
If it were me, I would take my hourly rate, say, $25/hr, and use that as a benchmark and then move that number up and down as I felt like it. It seems to me that it would be okay to bump it up a little bit, say $40-50/hr just to make it worth your time (if, for instance, you had decided to take a job in another field and would be using your spare time to take the consulting gig.)
But that's probably foolish, and why I would starve quickly if I were a consultant. So, readers, if you're a consultant, how should you charge for your services?
I've used a chemistry/chemistry-related consultant for regulatory affairs, once, where the
UPDATE: Let's just say that the comments are in agreement that my suggested rate is far too low. You should read them, and ignore me.
