

Ask HN: Managing Two Contracts - cellis

Hello all,<p>I have a very problematic dilemma. Currently i am working 70 - 80 hrs a week between two contracts. One of them, which pays pretty low ($19/hr), i took through a recruiter because i needed the money -- it was after quitting my job to work on a game. The second contract i took after the first because one of the smartest programmers I have ever known called me up and offered it, (the day after I started on the first), and it pays a relatively decent wage ($35/hr).The second contract company is now asking me for more time--time which i do not have. In short, it is not a very sustainable situation.<p>So for most people the choice i have to make is pretty clear cut, right? Quit the first contract and focus solely on the second one! Except i'm kind of worried that if i quit this one (which requires me to be onsite 8-5), i'll damage my reputation, because the project isn't done.<p>I have considered asking to work from home until it is done or asking for wage parity with the other contract (because i'm now <i>losing money</i> on this contract), but again, the project isn't done and I am the only person at the company that knows how to complete it (its a legacy app written in Actionscript 2), so I am worried that this would be viewed as some form of extortion or at the very least a little dishonest, because i did present myself as a specialist and if I quit because management didn't want to pay me more, the onus is now on the IT manager that hired me, and he doesn't have a clue how the app works.<p>Thoughts?
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edgefield
I respect you for carefully considering this ethical dilemma and not just
jumping for the higher pay. I have several questions about your situation:

1\. What are the terms of the original written contract (e.g., hours per week,
hours total, deliverables due, date for completion, etc)?

2\. Are there verbal expectations set forth between you and the client outside
the written contract?

3\. When do you expect to finish the low paying project? Do you have 40 hours
remaining or 400?

~~~
cellis
1\. 40hrs/week. I was not given a hard deadline.

2\. I gave them an estimate of 6 six weeks (we're in the 5th)

3\. Probably around 200, but I have no idea how stringent their QA is.

~~~
edgefield
So you have 200 hours of remaining work? In my opinion it would be unethical
to leave the project hanging. Can you establish a specific
deadline/deliverable within a 40-80 timeframe (e.g, get the project into beta)
and then work out an alternate (e.g., flexible, work at home, higher hourly
rate) arrangement to move the project through the final stages (e.g., QA)?

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dkubb
As a freelancer myself I think it's really important to finish what you start,
and keep your promises.

Sure, there are times when you have to walk away from a project, such as when
there are personality conflicts, or unreasonable expectations. It doesn't
sound like that's the case here.

Keep in mind that most software isn't actually done when you deliver on the
initial specs. Companies will usually expect you to be available for some sort
of maintenance phase where bugs fixes and small feature additions are done by
you. They'll likely expect you to work at your original rate unless otherwise
specified. Even though you think it's only going to be 200 hours I suspect you
will likely be involved with them longer than that.

What I would do is finish the contract, but start to set the company's
expectations now so there are no surprises at the end. Tell them honestly that
you set your rate lower than your costs, and that after you deliver the
project you will need to charge $35/hr or whatever the going rate is for
further work.

On a side note, while $35 sounds like a great full-time wage when freelancing
you'll be lucky if you can get 8 billable hours a day. Sure, while deep in
code it's easy to meet that, but there's the downtime between projects that
you have to account for. Also as a freelancer you're expected to be an expert,
so learning everything on the job is normally frowned upon -- you don't get
paid when you take time off to learn how to use a new tool or technique.

I once heard the rule of thumb is that if you'd like to earn the same as you
would working full time, but as a freelancer, that your hourly rate should at
least be twice your full time wage. Depending on where you live $35 might be
good, but I don't know any experienced freelance developers in North America
who charge that.

~~~
cellis
They have offered me a fulltime+ job at that rate, and I live in Michigan
where living costs are quite low.

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scorpioxy
Tough situation to be in. But it's great that you're stopping to think about
it.

I would say why do you have to stop the low paying project? Isn't it possible
to cut down on the hours? Also, if you explain why you need to cut down on the
hours, i am sure they would understand.(You can say "I need the money",
nothing wrong with that) And if not, then they would've answered the question
for you.

That's what i would do anyway. Good Luck.

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Vandy_Travis
I've been there. It's a good place to be. If you have other (trusted) coders
that you know, see if any of them are willing to take the work from job 1 at
the going rate ($19/ hr). Ethically, I believe you can send the work to them
(and they might be grateful, given the economy...) Additionally, be sure to
bill for the hours that you spend spec'ing the work to your subcontractor
(these will be few and far between -- but most companies would be willing to
pay to have stuff completed sooner).

If you don't have trusted colleagues (and/or cannot find someone working for
$19/ hr), I'd start looking for them. I recommend trying out oDesk
(outsourcing). As long as you have decent specs, they can crank out work
quickly for you. Of course, you will still need to rewrite a bunch of their
stuff (most don't have great code quality, IME), but you bill that out as
well.

This leaves you time for the real money making project.

The big problem is the on-site requirement. After working with them for 5
weeks, you should have some trust karma built. Talk with your manager, explain
that it is necessary for you to work from home for the remainder of the
project. Tell them that you need to work with other programmers in order to
finish in a more reasonable amount of time. A decent company will agree.

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dkokelley
Would the second (higher paying) contract understand if you wrapped up the
first contract before offering more hours? Bailing on a contract is certainly
bad for business, but more importantly, you could be on the hook for the
amount paid to you depending on how the contract is written.

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nfriedly
Here's an idea that I don't think anybody else has suggested: find another
developer to help with the first contract. You can't be the only Actionscript
2 expert out there.

I'm not sure this is the best solution, but I think it's better than leaving
them hanging.

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lv_
Dude - just finish it up, if you want to be a luxurious entrepreneur you must
finish all assignment.s

