RE: OFFTOPIC - Over-time pay (WAS: How to put egg on your face)

Consulting almost always pays more than permanent -- just not all people like consulting. Billable rates drive the salaries in consulting, so if you can charge, say, $135-$150/hour for your DBA services (which I was getting in Cleveland) your consulting company can pay you fairly handsomely. Or if you have enough contacts, you can go independent and make even more.

It all depends on the market, though. Down here in Raleigh-Durham the pay seems to be quite a bit lower, even thought the cost of living is about the same. I took quite a whack in my pay to come down. On the other hand, I just LIKE it better down here. Everything is a tradeoff. ;-)

-----Original Message-----
From: Hannah.M.Doran_at_sb.com [mailto:Hannah.M.Doran_at_sb.com] Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2000 7:05 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: OFFTOPIC - Over-time pay (WAS: How to put egg on your face)

I'm getting curious now. I work as a consultant and lets just say that I make
much more the 85k and I'm not even being billed out as a DBA. When I bill out
as a DBA, I get about $20-$25 more an hour. I don't bill out at my current client because even though DBA work is 90% of my job, I was originally brought
in as a developer and was retro-fitted into my current role about 2 years ago
when they realized that I had the skills and they did not have anyone else in-house at the time.

Guess they like my performance because I am still here and was told only yesterday that there is about 2-3 years more work for me here. Anyway, I'm not
complaining, I am very happy with my rates even if not being billed out at the
correct rate. (for me, its not about money - I LOVE MY JOB).

But I have looked at several articles regarding salary and rates for Oracle DBAs
and they all seem far below my rates. I wonder if its because I am in Philadelphia (not as expensive as New York). In New York, I'd need well over
100k for the cost of living increase.

I know a company in New Jersey that pays their Oracle DBAs $110k (full-time) and
were complaining because they KNEW that they were offering below market value
and were trying to find other *perks* to offer them in order to keep them at their company.

SO, I'm wondering what the gammit is for salaries/rates. Am I just being spoiled in this area? The reason I am asking is because in the future I will be
relocating to Boston. Boston has a much higher cost of living and would require
me to shoot for an at least 20% increase in my current rates in order to maintain my current standard of living. But I am not sure if this will be very
reasonable based on figures I have been seeing on DBA rates and salaires.

So, are the articles undershooting the general populas? Or is demand just mucher lower in other areas. In Philly, the market is TERRIFIC for Oracle. Not many of us and people go WAY out the way to keep us. Received on Mon Nov 20 2000 - 16:19:37 CST