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 Post subject: Citizen Kane [post-apocalyptic version]
PostPosted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 8:13 am 
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Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2005 3:47 pm
Posts: 4655
Location: New York City
From the "I hope that's a typo, but it probably isn't" file:

Stop Pumping Gas: Ten Hot Home Office Jobs

Quote:
With fuel prices topping four dollars per gallon in some states, many Americans want to keep their paychecks in their pockets and out of their gas tanks. Thanks to cheap Internet access and fast computers, some workers can perform their jobs just as well from home as they can in the office. Government analysts recently identified ten fast-growing jobs that combine higher-than-average hourly wages with the benefits of working from home.


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Quote:
#8: Desktop Publisher

Just as small businesses rely on public relations professionals to tell their stories, company owners look to desktop publishing professionals to make their stories look good in print. Advanced publishing tools now make it possible for desktop publishers to work from home, often earning over $20 as freelancers or in staff positions. Advanced training courses in graphic design and desktop publishing help these specialists retain the cutting-edge skills that help build strong client rosters.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:20 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2006 5:33 pm
Posts: 1225
Location: Texas
Might be "per hour" was meant. (That might also be after taxes. I wouldn't cross the street for that amount in gross.)


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:33 pm 
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Joined: Sat Jan 28, 2006 10:46 pm
Posts: 583
Location: University of Kentucky
I'm sure that's supposed to be $20 per hour. But even still, that doesn't sound like a lot of money for a freelancer.

Figuring that, in a competitive market, you'll spend half of your time chasing down clients and negotiating jobs -- not to mention covering your own health insurance, retirement, and operating overhead -- I would think you'd need to charge at least double your hourly "working for The Man" rate to make it on your own. And you'll want substantial cash reserves to weather the inevitable dips in business.

Somebody with design and editing skills, and the stomach for "customer service," should be able to earn at least $20 an hour in a reputable production shop. (I know it's less than that at a lot of newspapers.)

I would think that if you couldn't bill yourself out at a minimum of $40 hourly, it wouldn't be worth doing. Of course, you might be willing to take a pay cut if you didn't have to commute or wear clothes to work. It's hard to put a price on such freedoms.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 6:16 pm 
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Joined: Fri Nov 15, 2002 1:01 am
Posts: 3557
Location: Cusp of retirement, grave or both
trimtofit wrote:
Of course, you might be willing to take a pay cut if you didn't have to commute or wear clothes to work.


Not to mention not having to put up with stoopid jackasses, which I hear happens in some places.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 7:56 pm 
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Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:22 pm
Posts: 377
Location: Up North and unaffiliated
Saying you charge $20 an hour is another way of saying "I married rich."


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 6:31 pm 
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Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2002 12:01 am
Posts: 476
Location: Twin Cities
A salary of $20 an hour used to be the badge of the middle class. Or so I read.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 12:44 am 
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Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2003 12:01 am
Posts: 3137
Location: Homebush NSW Australia
One charges for freelance work ... (about 95Ac to US dollar)

Per day $813.00
Per half day (2/3 day rate) $542.00
Per hour $203.00


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:36 am 
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Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2002 12:01 am
Posts: 840
Location: Ashland, Ore.
paulwiggins wrote:
One charges for freelance work ... (about 95Ac to US dollar)

Per day $813.00
Per half day (2/3 day rate) $542.00
Per hour $203.00


Come, now, Wiggins ... the USD is still stronger than the AUD, and I will guarantee that to be the case for roughly 20 minutes.

That said, ~US$190 per hour sounds appealing. I won't take freelance work for under $60/hour, which I thought was high. (But that's design, not editing -- "desktop publishing", as it were.)


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:35 am 
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Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2003 12:01 am
Posts: 3137
Location: Homebush NSW Australia
Quite right, other way round. Prices quoted assume one is using own gear. We all know what we are; we are just negotiating our prices .....


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:04 pm 
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Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2002 12:01 am
Posts: 744
Location: HuskerLand
Before you really make fun of that $20/hr figure -- ever tried getting a free-lance job in a university town filled with journalism undergrads who would be happy to do that free-lance job for nothing, to put it on their resume? $20/hr is not that far off, my friends, if you want to be in competition with them.

One wishes clients would pay more for experience, but that's not often the case. Everybody wants it cheap and will gladly cheapen their standards to get the "right" price.


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