
Ask HN: How good are 200 or 250 usd/hour rate developer compared to lower tier? - jitendrac
hi, my hourly rate is around 25-30 USD&#x2F;hour. I really want to increase it, but due to competition on freelancing sites(Upwork),i was not successful. I have completed most of my projects with satisfactory remarks from clients. I really want to know how much difference is there between me and highly paid developers, What makes them better than me(may be negotiation!!)?
p.s. : I am a fullstack web developer and a hobbyist mobile app&#x2F;game maker. ( I don&#x27;t want to share my Upwork profile)
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wayn3
The most important part of getting paid more is asking for more.

Tomorrow, your hourly rate is $60. Doesn't matter whether it is. The next time
you talk to someone, that's your rate.

Then when you're hired, you deliver. If they're happy with your work, you
must've been worth at least that much.

Why does a SaaS cost $500 bucks? Why not just $50 or $5? The things we do are
immaterial. You can deliver $200k worth of value off of a 6cents/hour aws
instance. Why is my code writing worth $200/hour? Why is it worth anything?
Sure, markets. But in order for there to be a market, someone has to create
one. If you never ask for more money, nobody is going to give you more money.

What I'm saying is, if you do good work, you may as will ask for $60. There's
really no difference. You're either a good engineer or a bad one. If you're a
bad one, you really shouldn't be making any money at all. If you're a good
one, there's no reasons you should only be making $30.

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jitendrac
Thanks, Can I use my fiverr profile show my work?

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wayn3
If you want to be taken seriously as an engineer, you better never mention
your fiverr profile again.

But yea, you can if you want. But I won't provide code audits for free, if
that's what you're getting at.

~~~
jitendrac
Thanks for making a good point.

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wayn3
if you want to showcase your work, do it on github.

dont ask me how. i dont use github. but thats where people showcase their
work.

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Gustomaximus
I've found $15-$50hr has little difference on these type of sites so for me I
tend to stay at the lower end if I have basic jobs to be done.

$100+ people that can value-add and deliver with attention to detail. That
said at these rates I flip to local people (AU) so this might just be the
better environment.

I tried to use toptal once but after being sent a bunch of emails in the weeks
after I signed up to the website, when I sent the job specs they never got
back...

And I've stopped using Upwork as I find the rating system useless in helping
you find decent contractors.

I feel as other have said is you need to be able to deliver projects. I've
often heard hourly rate jobs are about lead gen. I know myself I'll give
people some simple jobs to test out quality when I'm in the market for new
contracts and those that pass the cut get offered projects.

~~~
jitendrac
Thank you for sharing your view.

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PaulHoule
They aren't on upwork, for one thing.

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jitendrac
I will now try word of mouth marketing, and expanding my connections on
linkedin.

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moyta
Get involved in a technical community in a higher paying country, then
leverage that to get work. This is how I meet the best foreign developers I've
worked with, and they already share a common interest with me, making me much
more reassured that they are somewhat knowledgeable.

~~~
jitendrac
Thanks for the idea, how may i find them(Reddit,IRC or Quora)?

~~~
jitendrac
sure, I have an active profile on github.

~~~
moyta
Good, find an active project and contribute some minor things, then see if
anyone needs something built using that project and do consulting work for
them. I believe you can put money directly on the prepaid card Upwork gives
out, while paying 4% or 5% instead of Upwork's fees, I'd use that for payment
on small jobs.

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tonylemesmer
Stop selling yourself by the hour. Take a punt on some projects and try
delivering functionality for a price. Gain confidence at this and slowly build
up your client list.

~~~
jitendrac
That is the great suggestion, I will put efforts in this direction. Biggest
obstacle on upwork is that they(clients) want much more customization on the
same initially quoted price. They keep on adding small details and big back-
end work. If i add extra usd on the work, they threaten to cancel the job(more
like black mail!!!). They don't obey the milestone payment and think of you as
slave!!!

~~~
moyta
Software development is hard, and finding out what the client actually needs
is half the battle & part of the job before doing anything significant on
Upwork or just as a consultant.

Often, I find businesses don't understand what they need to operate more
efficiently, but when you show it to them, or bring them a mostly formed plan,
they are much more likely to get what they need you to build. It all comes
down to understanding what the client actually needs, not the lies they
unknowingly tell you.

~~~
jitendrac
I have the similar views. Here is my fiverr profile <<<REMOVED>>>>

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moyta
English or <insert relevant language> skills for one, along with not working
on Upwork. Having paid a few grand on Upwork, I doubt I will ever use it
again.

Based on your post, I would highly recommend practicing capitalization &
grammar further, I have worked with many devs outside upwork who learned
english as a second language who have mastered this, and have taught many
foreign exchange students good grammar.

~~~
jitendrac
thank you for the suggestion. I have edited the question. I have made this
post in hurry so I did not pay attention in the grammar.(you are right,English
is my 2nd language.)

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moyta
Looks the same to me, still could use editing.

For example: _Thank_ you for the suggestion _,_ I have edited the question. I
made this post in hurry so I did not pay attention _to_ the grammar. ( _You_
are right, English is my 2nd language.)

Your english needs some work, but you are not in a bad place. Start sentences
off with a capital letter, and avoid fragmented sentences. Additionally, you
are using certain words unnecessarily which breaks the flow of the sentence
(have for example), and on your main post some words should be reversed. I
would also encourage you to always put a space between each word and after a
comma (,), let me know if you need any help!

~~~
jitendrac
Thanks for pinning out the small details.

~~~
moyta
The small details go a long way :P

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petervandijck
Double your rate, have a strong Github profile and start writing
professionally whenever you communicate to clients.

Writing professionally means no grammar, spelling or punctuation mistakes, and
re-writing your emails a few times for clarity before sending them. Including
here and in chat.

Good luck!

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jitendrac
Added to the checklist!! :)

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sharemywin
Top tier developers usually have a very hard to find skill. And working on
site jumps wages quite a bit.

