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Re: Accessibilty consultant salary

for

From: Mike Barlow
Date: May 10, 2016 8:47AM

Hell, I'll do it for half that rate Birkir!
But that does remind me of the old urban legend about the "$30,000 Check
Mark"

*Mike Barlow*
Web Application Developer
Web Accessibility/Section 508 SME

Lancaster, Pa 17601
Office: 732.835-7557
Cell: 732.682.8226
e-mail: <EMAIL REMOVED>

On Tue, May 10, 2016 at 9:52 AM, Birkir R. Gunnarsson <
<EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

> I'd be happy to provide web accessibility consulting for $18000 an hour.
> *grin*
> Seriously, a friend of mine who works at a very large multi-national
> company once said they contracted a specialist for an hourly rate like
> that .. and not for accessibility purposes.
>
>
>
> On 5/10/16, Jennifer Sutton < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> > WebAIM folks:
> >
> > I'll be fascinated to see where this discussion goes.
> >
> >
> > I've been on email lists that explicitly forbid the discussion of
> > salaries, lest the list be put in the position of setting up some kind
> > of industry price-fixing or collusion, or even the appearance thereof.
> >
> >
> > It's not my intention to sound scary; I'm simply sharing my experience.
> > These were very mainstream lists consisting of folks who worked on the
> web.
> >
> >
> > For my part, what I'll say, as an independent consultant is that it very
> > much depends on your market/what kind of rates others outside of
> > accessibility are charging, plus cost of living, plus all of the things
> > that are required to sustain a business and a life. And sometimes, if
> > business is good, I might charge a little less to help a nonprofit.
> >
> >
> > Basically, specializing in accessibility, in my view, is going to
> > require you to market harder, rather than if you were an independent
> > developer who offered accessibility as an additional service (or if you
> > just did it as a matter of course, which is even better).
> >
> >
> > I sat on the procurement side of the desk, for a while, and what I
> > learned from that has certainly informed my thinking as I've returned to
> > consulting.
> >
> >
> > So, were I in your shoes, Mike, I'd solicit bids for projects from your
> > current job; that's how you really can get a sense of what companies
> > would charge. And of course, the longer a company has been around/has a
> > reputation, the more they can charge.
> >
> >
> > I'd also mention that the more the legal situation heats up in the U.S.
> > (or perhaps it would now be better to say becomes hard to predict), the
> > more anyone who's in this business needs to keep that in mind. What
> > "keeping that in mind" means for each consultant is up to him/her to
> > judge. But not thinking about that area early and often, when
> > establishing a new business, seems to me unwise.
> >
> >
> > I trust you're studying the market enough to know, Mike, that Deque,
> > TPG, and SSB BART Group are all hiring like crazy. That's something that
> > would inform my thinking, if I were in your situation. Other companies
> > may be, too; I mention these three because they're the ones I see.
> >
> >
> > And no, I'm not going to reveal my rates here on the list, or by private
> > email, unless someone contacts me about real work, just in case you were
> > waiting for "the punch line." See my LinkedIn profile link below my
> > name. And I'm not responding here as a disguised marketing pitch.
> >
> >
> > Finally, here's a link to a WebAIM survey that may be helpful.
> >
> > http://webaim.org/blog/practitioner-survey-results/
> >
> >
> >
> > Good luck.
> >
> > Jennifer
> >
> > http://www.linkedin.com/in/jsuttonmedia
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > > > > > > > >
>
>
> --
> Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
> > > > >