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A comment on A.I. researchers are making more than $1M, even at a nonprofit. Parent comment

Re:A.I. researchers are making more than $1M, even at a nonp... by robomartin on Sunday September 29, 2019 @02:05PM (#21108579)
Context is always important. At the end of the day it is about what value you bring to the table. If the work fits your experience and capabilities well, charging anything between $150 and $250+ per hour on a long term contract isn't out of the question, I've done it many time, with multi-year engagements. The best deal I did was some 25 years ago was substantially above that range.

Of course, part of it is being a good negotiator --and I am not the best by far.

Again, it is all about what one side needs vs. what the other side can deliver. You then add a context that includes such things as urgency, uniqueness of the problem to be solved, supply of practitioners with the required expertise as well as other dynamics (does the company need to meet a milestone ASAP?) and you have the makings of doing very well if you are in the right place, at the right time and with adequate negotiating skill.

Of course, if close such deals you have to be able to deliver the goods or you better start thinking about an alternative career.

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Re:A.I. researchers are making more than $1M, even at a nonp... by not2b on Sunday September 29, 2019 @02:20PM (#21108691)
Contract numbers shouldn't be directly compared to employee compensation numbers. A contractor has additional expenses and taxes and can have periods between contracts with nothing coming in, so needs to be making more money to have equivalent net income after taxes and expenses.
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Re:A.I. researchers are making more than $1M, even at a nonp... by robomartin on Sunday September 29, 2019 @08:25PM (#21110650)
No difference in my experience. It's all part of the negotiation. I used "contract" as a general term rather than to mean just contract work.

Of course, I am talking about outliers here, that should be understood. In most of these cases it is, as I said, a right-place, right-time, right-skills circumstance, an alignment of the planets, if you will.

I've seen even crazier stuff. Back during the most heated phase of the internet bubble savvy guys were making outrageous deals. I remember one guy who wanted to charge $500 per hour if he worked from home and $800 if he had to come to the office...to complete a Visual Basic project. No, he was not hired. Wrong place/time/skills.

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