Need some quick dollar estimates

[Hoef]

Hi, I am helping out a friend with a business plan and I thought with all the sharp minds here it would be a piece of cake to get some insights.

Basically he is building a large data base (mysql) that connects users through a web interface. He is probably looking towards hiring a database expert and a graphics designer type. Maybe he also needs some connections to 3rd party web services applications. What would it cost to hire such team? My estimation is:

- Database person: $60k
- Web designer: $50k
- Integration specialist: $70k

What your opinion and will outsource help ... Though maybe only the webdeisgn piece can be outsourced (what would that cost?)

Thanks for your help...

 

[Hoef]

euh... anyone?

 

[mnkeybsness]

This can be dependent on the are in which your friend is hiring out of. You can try using salary.com's salary range finder for the area. I have a feeling that you will find each to be worth about $40-55K per year.

On the other hand, if this is just one project that will take about a month to complete, consider freelance designers and developers. Standard price is usually $50/hour.

 

[Leareth]

Yeah really depends on where you are...
Here in Vancouver most web designers make min wage or less ($8.50/h), some make a living. there are too many overnight schools and cheater template websites around for real, trained professional designers to make a living. there are exceptions... for 50K in vancouver you would have more applications than you would know what to do with. 35-42K CDN is good wage

 

[Hoef]

Yeah really depends on where you are...
Here in Vancouver most web designers make min wage or less ($8.50/h), some make a living. there are too many overnight schools and cheater template websites around for real, trained professional designers to make a living. there are exceptions... for 50K in vancouver you would have more applications than you would know what to do with. 35-42K CDN is good wage

Thanks for the response .... thats unbelievable.

 

[ChicoWeb]

Depends on the quality of people too. It's hard to find quality people that you can trust in this industry, at least through my exp. But it's not like you can just draw up business plans for these sort of things with no requirements or project specs. So it really depends on a variety of things. Ballparking in this industry doesn't work a lot of clients don't understand it.

Its like saying, how much would it cost me to build a house? Just ballpark it. Well, there are just a few specs you might need to come up with a better estimate, yes?

 

[virus1]

i don't know about the technical stuff, but for the design, depending on how much work it actually is, you should be looking for much much less.

hell. ill do it for $500. (thats 1% for you math ppl out there.. my homies! peace out, all)

 

[mnkeybsness]

hell. ill do it for $500. (thats 1% for you math ppl out there.. my homies! peace out, all)

You'll always find 14 year olds pimping themselves out for less than you should ever expect to pay. One of my clients once said that if you ever want something done, require a portfolio as proof of accomplishment and always expect to pay an industry standard wage.

 

[MacEffects]

The bigest problem with those fields is that you have to find clients and depending where you are this can be hard. I know where I am, you'd be lucky for one crappy paying deal. But I don't think bigger cities would be better since there is more competition.

 

[Hoef]

Its like saying, how much would it cost me to build a house? Just ballpark it. Well, there are just a few specs you might need to come up with a better estimate, yes?

Sure I understand... Though with a house you can at least ballpark it a little
For a $50k hire (+options) inhouse development seems a better route to go than $50/hr or so using a contractor. Especially since the specs are not in stone yet and are likely to change over time.

The IT will be setup using managed servers ($170/mos/per server) rather than buy and install inhouse. That was an easier decision


Edit .... since location seems to be the important factor here, think Austin or Houston TX

 

[NoNameBrand]

If you're going to be doing this for a while, it's definitely cheaper and more productive for you to hire people than use freelancers. I worked for my current employer as a freelancer for 8 months or so before they hired me on full time. I took a pay cut in exchange for reliable work and drug/dental coverage.

Regular hours does have it's disadvantages though - I like sleeping in and taking far more days off than my vacation allows.

As for those prices in Vancouver are ridiculous. There are lots of people that think they know what they're doing (or actually do, who are even worse), who don't charge a lot - this happens in a lot of unregulated professional areas, such as programming, photography, etc. When I was starting out, my *low* rate was $20/hr. I charge more now for my freelance work. If I were living in a more expensive place (say. Vancouver), I would be charging more than $60/hr.

(Canadian dollars here).

 

[Chacala_Nayarit]

I need a job. I can do HTML, XHTML, and CSS. A cursory knowledge of Javascript . However, only beginning PHP - updating math skills first.

Not bad with Photoshop and Fireworks.

48 semester credits.....

Will work for less than 50k - more like 35k.