Ask Dr. LJ: What's my rate?

[prog]

OK, so Origins happened, and this that and the other, and Volity's investment trail, while still warm, has yet to reach a conclusion. I am now even broker than I was the last time I said I was broke - I am no longer frequenting cafés coz I have lost the ability to pay for things in cash - and since there is no salary for me in the foreseeable[1] future I'm going to pick up where I left off three weeks ago and look for short-term part-time contract work.

I've cruised jobs.perl.org and got a half-dozen applications ready to go, and my question is: knowing what y'all know about me - basically, I am a super-expert at whateverthehell these people want me to do regarding Perl and databases and websites - what should I be asking for? Is $125/hr too much? (too little?)

[1] While it is true that, things being what they are for us, "the foreseeable future" describes a time period about 50 hours long, the fact remains that the particular such slice I refer to here has no paycheck for me in it.

Comments

[radtea.livejournal.com]

$125/hr doesn't seem high, especially for short-term contracts. My current rates are in the same ballpark, for similar levels of expertise in C++ algorithm and custom application development, and I don't even have any book credits, so you shouldn't be shy about asking for that much.