$65 an hour? WTF?

[mattmcl]

Just some perspective on these hourly rates. Let's assume you're one person with your own computer repair business, and work 2,000 hours per year (assuming a 2-week vacation). So you have 2,000 hours to earn your target salary. Let's say that target salary is 65,000/year. You'd think it would be as simple as 65,000/2,000=32.50/hour, but it's not. First, self-employment tax scrapes 30% off the top. And how many of those 2,000 hours are billable? For most freelancers, once you take into account billing, driving, marketing, etc., you end up with 1,000/year billable, bringing the hourly rate to $65. Then factor in health insurance, retirement, disability, etc. That would bring the hourly up to $85-100 or more.

I used to complain about those rates too, until I freelanced for five years. Puts things into perspective.

 

[weirdboy]

You'd think it would be as simple as 65,000/2,000=32.50/hour, but it's not. First, self-employment tax scrapes 30% off the top

I will just point out here that most people earning $65k are going to be paying 25% federal income taxes on it, plus state, local, medicare, social security, insurance, & retirement.

 

[o4_srt]

I will just point out here that most people earning $65k are going to be paying 25% federal income taxes on it, plus state, local, medicare, social security, insurance, & retirement.

That might be how much is deducted, but now how much they owe. Most have enough in write-offs to avoid most of their taxes Almost 50% of Americans do not pay taxes after deductions

 

[weirdboy]

That might be how much is deducted, but now how much they owe. Most have enough in write-offs to avoid most of their taxes Almost 50% of Americans do not pay taxes after deductions

Well I am not sure but last time I checked I was an American and I have paid taxes every year I've worked. I would also be willing to bet that self-employed folks can take advantage of tax deductions, too.

Do YOU pay federal taxes or are you just erecting a straw man?

 

[o4_srt]

Well I am not sure but last time I checked I was an American and I have paid taxes every year I've worked. I would also be willing to bet that self-employed folks can take advantage of tax deductions, too.

Do YOU pay federal taxes or are you just erecting a straw man?

I pay taxes, then when I file my tax return, my deductions knock me down enough so that I get all my federal taxes back.

 

[remilard]

Well I am not sure but last time I checked I was an American and I have paid taxes every year I've worked. I would also be willing to bet that self-employed folks can take advantage of tax deductions, too.

Do YOU pay federal taxes or are you just erecting a straw man?

He's right, about 45% of households have no FIT burden. That is an easily verifiable and well publicized fact...

 

[leviticus]

I got to about page 6 of this thread and wanted to scream... one lesson to take away from this: don't take advice about computers from a homebrew forum.

[Disclaimer: I'm an IT guy by profession, the company I work for gets $120/hr for me - the OP got off cheap if the work was done right. Plenty will find what I am about to say to be 'wrong', but it's my opinion (and a strong one) - just like what they say will be THEIR opinion.]

I wouldn't run antivirus on my PC if the company making it was paying ME to do so... it's a complete waste of time and system resources - you're going to get infected anyways (because you don't have the common sense to not click on popups that come from porn sites - and yes, despite what you say, the internet IS for porn.)

AVG free has gone to sh** and couldn't stop a txt file from opening if it wanted to.

When you DO get infected, Malwarebytes will get just about anything off a PC, if you're savvy enough to get it running on a PC that is infected - which can be a task. Combofix is the next step if that doesn't work, but don't come bitching if it screws up your registry or OS.

Google is your friend, and people that you call just to make them google something FOR you will not be your friend for long.

 

[McMalty]

Got my computer back from the tech place earlier today. Looked at the bill and it was just over $160. So I took a look at everything to make sure there wasnt a mistake or anything.

$65 a ****ing hour? A whole hour and a half worth of work. You're ****ing kidding me right!?

Yes, the math doesnt add up. I also had them put a years worth of their security crap on it for an extra $60.

Anyone else know nothing about computers have to pay this kind of money? Jesus, I feel like I just saw a lawyer or took the truck to a mechanic.

Lord knows my ass hurt after writing that check out. **** me

A lot of service providers offer free "security crap" to their customers. I have comcast, i get the full package of Norton for free. you may want to check into it, save urself $60/yr

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

A lot of service providers offer free "security crap" to their customers. I have comcast, i get the full package of Norton for free. you may want to check into it, save urself $60/yr

Sorry McMalty, but Norton is not security crap. It's crap, plain and simple.
You'd be better off following Leviticus' "opinion", and not having any protection at all.

 

[leviticus]

(because you don't have the common sense to not click on popups that come from porn sites - and yes, despite what you say, the internet IS for porn.)

I just wanted to clarify that the above statement is not directed at the OP, but to the general computer public, and is meant as a joke more than anything.

 

[McMalty]

Sorry McMalty, but Norton is not security crap. It's crap, plain and simple.
You'd be better off following Leviticus' "opinion", and not having any protection at all.

i actually don't like norton, i prefer mcaffee, but it's free and it works perfectly fine and i'm not going to start some debate about anti-virus software b/c i just don't really give enough of a damn to waste my time with that

 

[McMalty]

I just wanted to clarify that the above statement is not directed at the OP, but to the general computer public, and is meant as a joke more than anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-TA57L0kuc

pretty sure you weren't joking, but who gives a $hit, ur on a message board, plus 99% of computer owners use the internet for that....amongst other things

 

[lumpher]

i've been a pctech for 20 years, and a brewer for a few years. i help fellow homebrewers out for bombers of beer

 

[BBKing]

Lol, Leviticus, I didnt take any offense.

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

i actually don't like norton, i prefer mcaffee, but it's free and it works perfectly fine and i'm not going to start some debate about anti-virus software b/c i just don't really give enough of a damn to waste my time with that

That's alright, no need to blow a gasket over it. Actually, McAfee is just as crappy as Norton.
But it's great that you don't give a damn. Actually, if it wasn't because most people don't give a damn, I'd be pretty much out of a job by now. Too bad you're not in Miami, so I could take your money too.

 

[amc22]

1. So you're avoiding the subject.

2. Yep. More than a million members, a lot of them, like me, noobs, "blindly suggesting". But we're all wrong, and you're the only one that's right. Sure.

1. Not avoiding anything, someone else already explained it.

2. Exactly, glad you could see things my way.

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

1. Not avoiding anything, someone else already explained it.

2. Exactly, glad you could see things my way.

Sure.

 

[Brutus Brewer]

When I did taxes I charged what equated to $150 an hour.

 

[McMalty]

That's alright, no need to blow a gasket over it. Actually, McAfee is just as crappy as Norton.
But it's great that you don't give a damn. Actually, if it wasn't because most people don't give a damn, I'd be pretty much out of a job by now. Too bad you're not in Miami, so I could take your money too.

alright, what do you suggest i use then? and why? why is what you suggest better? i have friends that are IT specialists and they suggest McAfee, so i trust them, but i'm interested in what you have to say.....then i'll run it by them and report back to you

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

alright, what do you suggest i use then? and why? why is what you suggest better?

I thought I already made my suggestion...

Why do I think Spybot is better? Because so far it hasn't let me down, while garbage like Norton, McAfee , AVG, etc have done so years ago. I used Norton and McAfee under DOS. Then they used to be good. Then, F-Prot kicked both their digital asses, and, ever since they seem to have never recovered.
I think Spybot is better because so far I haven't found a single virus it hasn't detected, even when I have tried several AV programs (AVG, Kaspersky, Computer Associates, and several others I don't remember now), and, even in the very few times (7, IIRC) in which it couldn't disinfect a virus it had found, it gave me the tools to disinfect them by hand. And because, on top of all that, it's free.

I had heard of malwarebytes before. Some people say it's good, some others hate it. I have never used it myself, and the fact that you have to pay for it means I probably never will.

 

[o4_srt]

Afaik, spybot it isn't an antivirus program, it's antimalware, unless they recently changed during the past year or so.

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

Malware, short for malicious software, (sometimes referred to as pestware[1]) is a software designed to harm or secretly access a computer system[2] without the owner's informed consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code.[3]

Software is considered to be malware based on the perceived intent of the creator rather than any particular features. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware, dishonest adware, scareware, crimeware, most rootkits, and other malicious and unwanted software or program.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware

 

[o4_srt]

Sorry, I meant spyware/adware.

Straight from the spybot website: "spybot s&d detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat nit yet covered by common antivirus software"

It does not directly search for virus/Trojans/worms, although will sometimes catch them as Long as the filename containing the malware is registered in the s&d search definitions.

If the filename is something else, it won't find it.


I'm not jumping into this argument; merely giving you a heads up.

It certainly didn't detect the google redirect virus I had, had to kill that one manually. Regedit anyone?

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

I wish I had taken the time to write down the list of viruses I took off a customer's computer little less than a week ago, using Spybot.
Believe me, it does detect and disinfect malware, trojans, worms, etc. The only kind of malware it doesn't detect is scareware (fake AV programs).

Regedit and a hex editor are the tools I was talking about. If you can't disinfect something with Spybot, you move to the right side of the name, and click on the icon with the type of file. It automatically opens that file either o a hex editor, or the entry on regedit. Makes disinfecting by hand, child's
play.

 

[zac]

....I once charged a "client" over a million dollars for a days work. Thats almost 42K an hour, and they were more than happy to pay it.

 

[bengerman]

I'd rather spend 5 or more hours of learning than pay someone $1. In the end I learned something and have my problem fixed. The skills you learn transfer to other things. I already mentioned that I have no problem with the price structure for a service call. I just like to learn on my own.

that's what i do.
car, computer, bike, whatever.
when i first got the car i drive now, i didn't know how to change oil. couple months ago i changed my clutch, lower control arms and cv axles.
when i bought my stereo at car toys, i turned down their install, even though it was free, since i could do it myself (guy knocked of $50 for it, without me even asking, though.)

 

[Rick91981]

I had heard of malwarebytes before. Some people say it's good, some others hate it. I have never used it myself, and the fact that you have to pay for it means I probably never will.

Malwarebytes is an amazing program and removes 95% of malware. And you do NOT have to pay for it. There is a free version and it is excellent, just does not provide real time scanning.

 

[dino2gnt]

When i gave notice at my last employer, i told them I would be happy to come back and fix any issue the encountered until they could hire my replacement.

For $150 a hour.

I 1099'd 15 hours with them before they stopped calling me.

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

Malwarebytes is an amazing program and removes 95% of malware. And you do NOT have to pay for it. There is a free version and it is excellent, just does not provide real time scanning.

Like I said, some love it, some don't.

 

[izatt82]

Microsofts malware removal tool is pretty good as well.

 

[izatt82]

alright, what do you suggest i use then? and why? why is what you suggest better? i have friends that are IT specialists and they suggest McAfee, so i trust them, but i'm interested in what you have to say.....then i'll run it by them and report back to you

Somebody in IT suggested mccrapy. First of all it's a resources hog a real big one. If you want free just use security essentials, if you don't mind paying look at nod32 very low on resources proven to work very well take a look at it.

 

[o4_srt]

Somebody in IT suggested mccrapy. First of all it's a resources hog a real big one. If you want free just use security essentials, if you don't mind paying look at nod32 very low on resources proven to work very well take a look at it.

Get back in TKT!!!! damn canadains wandering off....,

 

[izatt82]

And let's face it, no AV program is going to stop an ignorant user. If you tell the av program or UAC or firewall to let it through then it's to late.

 

[brewmcq]

When I did tech stuff, I'd charge $35 an hour. When I got hired by a company to do tech stuff, they charged $75 an hour, of which I got $12.50 an hour.

$60 worth of "security crap" is just that... crap. Get rid of the Norton and the "network security" programs which do nothing but slow down your internet connection... AVS is free and just as good as Norton (or McAfee or whatever) and sucks down considerably fewer resources.

CCleaner (Crap Cleaner... it finds and advises things that are just wasting resources for you to delete) does a really good job, as does their defrag program. There's a bunch of Anti-spyware/malware applications out there that are free for the taking and work just as well, if not better than commercial applications.

Another poster said it best.. Google. If you get an error, write it down and Google it, if you can. These days, people have access to more than one computer.


When you buy a computer, especially if it's running Windows, be prepared to wipe the hard drive and reload everything every 3-4 years at the latest (or, if you're a geek like me, I can keep patching things up and keep it going longer), so keep your files good and organized (documents, pictures, etc).

Something else to keep in mind. While the computer shop is "working" on your computer, they are simply running one of the thousands of free tools out there while they simultaneously charge some other poor schmuck $65 an hour to run those tools on his computer. But is the tech making any money? Usually not much more than minimum wage.

Good luck with it.

 

[Homercidal]

And let's face it, no AV program is going to stop an ignorant user. If you tell the av program or UAC or firewall to let it through then it's to late.

The cold hard truth. The best protection is common sense. But other than NOD32, I would not pay for any other protection. There are plenty of good, free software out there for the having.

 

[kappclark]

I just dropped my Jeep off at a mechanic to diagnosis an electrical problem I could not solve. $75/hr and I called almost every mechanic in town and that was going rate.

Our Jeep has terrible electrical plms !! I want to fix it, then sell it ... new battery, started up, ran for a day, now nothing .. I love the Jeep in the snow, but I just hope the computer isn't fried..

 

[janivar123]

I miss win 98se
I could fix and configure anything on that
65$ an hour would barely pay the teck here so double that if its not a private job
AVG full has kept me without formatting for years(but then i try to avoid viruses too)

Im so old i first tell friends to run hitman pro before i come to fix there pc problems
Its a long process and i can only hope they learn something...

 

[petey_c]

I'm a licensed electrician here on Long Island and I charge $75/hr.. That's cheap. That also varies on who I'm working for. Relatives usually the cheapest ($0), but it's whatever the market can bear. If I pull up to your driveway and see big dollar vehicles and a big dollar house, my price will reflect that. People would grouse about how I charged $60 to remove and replace a ceiling fixture. We're not talking some ornate chandelier either. I was wandering HD looking for parts and saw that THEY charge $109.00 (+tax) for the same thing. Many times people don't see what goes into your price: insurance, license fees, vehicle registration fees, accountant, taxes, continuing education courses, gas, etc. My E250 gets about 10 mpg. A job about 90 miles R/T will cost me about $36 in gas alone. (Gas here has recently dropped to $3.89/gal.) If I charged someone $100 for a service call and was there less than an hour, that works out to $21/hr. (1 hour travel each way). They look at me as if I'm holding a gun when I hand them the bill.

 

[Vance71975]

Got my computer back from the tech place earlier today. Looked at the bill and it was just over $160. So I took a look at everything to make sure there wasnt a mistake or anything.

$65 a ****ing hour? A whole hour and a half worth of work. You're ****ing kidding me right!?

Yes, the math doesnt add up. I also had them put a years worth of their security crap on it for an extra $60.

Anyone else know nothing about computers have to pay this kind of money? Jesus, I feel like I just saw a lawyer or took the truck to a mechanic.

Lord knows my ass hurt after writing that check out. **** me

Computer shop i worked in charged 45 an hour labor, 29 bench fee(30 mins or less) Plus the markup on parts. Sad thing about it is in about 2 hours i could prolly teach you to do everything they did yourself....

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Adjusting your price between customers (we'll assume individuals and local - not commercial or far away) is a sure-fire way of not getting repeat business in the neighborhood, and a good way to destroy word-of-mouth.

So much so, in fact, that in our neighborhood we've set-up a mailing list, and often you will see recommendations of electricians, HVAC, etc from neighbors, and you will also see "That guy is a rip-off" emails flying by.

I've asked "general quotes" (as in, how much to do such-and-such work) and if the guy obviously tries to size me up by asking where I live (asking which neighborhood is a give-away), I will walk away telling him "Thanks, but no thanks".

M_C

If I pull up to your driveway and see big dollar vehicles and a big dollar house, my price will reflect that. People would grouse about how I charged $60 to remove and replace a ceiling fixture.