Hey aroy...

First, figure how much you want to get paid? Or simply take a gross yearly income & divide it by 52. Thats your weekly paycheck. After that, just divide it by 40. And there's your hourly wage.

Here's an example.
Say you want to make 50,000 a year.

Ok take 50,000 & divide it by 52, which equals 962 a week gross.

Then divide 962 by 40 hours.
Which is equal to 24 dollars per hour.

But then again I have no idea what you are really worth in terms of experience.

Hope that helps.

FK

I'm currently doing some work for my landlord, verbal contract.

The hourly wage that I charge is double what I make at my office - using FK's example, that would be $48. (offices typically bill employees out at 2-3 times their hourly wage, so in the case of FK's example above, that employee is being billed to clients at ~$50-$75 an hour...)

Now, that is for work on the side. If this contract job is your primary employment, this might be invalid.

*There are far more qualified people on this forum to address your question. just thought I would add my 2 cents in the meantime...

Realize that as a contract employee, you will not be receiving benefits that you would if you were a paid employee. This includes: paid sick days, paid vacation days, paid holidays, health insurance, or 401k.

Also verify if you will be reimbursed for materials: ink cartridges, paper, pens, travel.

Also, will you have setup or equipment costs? An office will pay for a desk, chair, computer, software, resource library, internet connection, cell phone, office space rent, fax machine, fax line, etc.

Include all of this when you figure your hourly rate.

here's the formula we use to determine contract rates at our firm:

1. Determine the individual's salary, as though that person were a full-time employee.

2. Add to that salary the premiums associated with health, dental, life and disability insurance, plus the employer's statutory payments for FICA, unemployent insurance, etc..

3. Subtract from 2080 (i.e. 40 x 52) vacation time at 80 hours, sick leave at 40 hours and holidays at 56 hours = 1,904 possible work hours during the year, not anticipating any overtime.

4. Divide the number in #2 by the number in #3 to use as an hourly rate for contract work. This is very, very close to what it would cost us to have this person added to our payroll as a full-time employee.

of course, what I describe above is not really a "contract" relationship ... it's simply describes a fair way to pay a part-time, hourly employee who works in our office at a desk and computer we provide and who is not otherwise eligible to receive the benefits that accrue to a full-time, regular employee.

quizzical raises a good point --- a contact relationship means something specific under the law --- it means that you don't necessarily work in your client's office --- it means that you don't have much, if any, direct supervision. labeling what is essentially an employment relationship to be a "contract" relationship can cause difficulties for you and your employer.

I suggest you look at your state's Department of Labor website ... here's the one for Texas: INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS / CONTRACT LABOR ... and, here a more generic explanation: Know the Rules For Hiring Contract Labor

Good luck.