Your real worth: was: Salary Survey from STC

[Dick Gaskill <dickg -at- AG3D -dot- COM>]

Elna,

I also know a few contractors who make $100K,   BUT  - and here's the
catch - only as long as they are steadily employed.

There's another BIG catch too.

Since contractors usually have to cover their own insurances, (life,
medical, disability, etc., it's a bit unfair to compare their salaries
against those of salaried employees unless you add the value of the
benefits that companies provide to salaraied employees. What you really
have to look at is the total compensation you are receiving, not just
the paycheck.

Benefits can range from 20% to 40% or so, depending on the company,
stock options, 401K matching, pre-tax medical benefits, medical and
dental benefits for their families, etc.  Don't forget to include the
paid time off you get for holidays, vacations, and sick leave.  And
there's also the G&A  to consider (see next paragraph).

G&A is the overhead - the amount per person that the company pays for
rent, electricity, heat, water, sewer, garbage, janitorial services,
computer equipment, paper, office supplies, connection to the net, etc.
It may also include a pro rata part of the cost of anyone in your
company that does not actually build part of the product, including
company management, admin. assistants, accounting people, etc.  I don't
think all companies do this the same way.

So, TWs, find out from the benefits person in your HR department, what
the percentage of benefits is compared to your salary.  Find out what
the G&A is per person (HR may have this info or you may need to go to
Operations to get it).  Do the math and you'll see what you're really
worth to the company.  Also add in how much you save by not paying taxes
on some of the benefits.  Then compare the total to the contractor
salaries.  Here's an example:

Salary - $65K
Benefits = 30% = 19.5K
G&A = $500/mo = 6K /yr.  (Not including Admin people.  I'm just guessing
on this one, I could be way off)

65+19.5+6 = $90.5K . This is what the company is *really* paying you,
even though you don't see the total in cash each payday.  Not a whole
lot less than the $100K contractor salary is it?

Dick Gaskill
Pubs Manager
AccelGraphics, Inc.

        ----------
        From:  Elna Tymes [SMTP:etymes -at- LTS -dot- COM]
        Subject:  Re: Salary Survey from STC

        I know of a number of senior writers in Silicon Valley who are
making
        >$100K gross. However, they're not on salary to any company but
their own - in one way or another, they're all contractors.

        Los Trancos Systems