Young Engineer w/ offer to contract doing FEA or Test Plan Development, never contracted before
Young Engineer w/ offer to contract doing FEA or Test Plan Development, never contracted before
(OP)
Hello everyone in the community -
Me: MS, structural (civil) engineering, 2.5 yrs in workforce
I worked in aerospace directly out of college doing carbon fiber and aluminum FEA and stress analysis. Funding issues caused me to leave.
My current job I've had for 1.5 yrs is working in a large scale test lab, which has entailed lots of diverse experience.
I have a non-written offer to join up again in aerospace on a 6 month contract. I know people at the company, and the choice is up to me whether I join as a stress engineer again, or work on test plan and fixture development.
I'm very interested in pursuing contracting at this stage and figure this is a great opportunity to start, but I am not sure what my billing rate should be given my experience. Additionally, I'm not certain which option I should pursue, FEM or testing. I know that comes down to personal preference too, but any advice regarding those options, and particularly the demand of contractors for each respective option would be very much appreciated. Whatever I choose, working remotely will be what I'm doing, so I'd be curious to hear if that's common practice as well when hiring on FEM or Testing contractors.
Me: MS, structural (civil) engineering, 2.5 yrs in workforce
I worked in aerospace directly out of college doing carbon fiber and aluminum FEA and stress analysis. Funding issues caused me to leave.
My current job I've had for 1.5 yrs is working in a large scale test lab, which has entailed lots of diverse experience.
I have a non-written offer to join up again in aerospace on a 6 month contract. I know people at the company, and the choice is up to me whether I join as a stress engineer again, or work on test plan and fixture development.
I'm very interested in pursuing contracting at this stage and figure this is a great opportunity to start, but I am not sure what my billing rate should be given my experience. Additionally, I'm not certain which option I should pursue, FEM or testing. I know that comes down to personal preference too, but any advice regarding those options, and particularly the demand of contractors for each respective option would be very much appreciated. Whatever I choose, working remotely will be what I'm doing, so I'd be curious to hear if that's common practice as well when hiring on FEM or Testing contractors.
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RE: Young Engineer w/ offer to contract doing FEA or Test Plan Development, never contracted before
An Example:
Company A is willing to pay up to $60 per hour, but candidate B gives the first number at $40 per hour. Company A wins
or
Person X will work for $40 per hour. Company Y gives the first number at $50 per hour. Person X wins
If they throw out a number that is too low for you, start negotiating.
RE: Young Engineer w/ offer to contract doing FEA or Test Plan Development, never contracted before
There is a good discussion about this topic here: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/full-time-salary-vs...
RE: Young Engineer w/ offer to contract doing FEA or Test Plan Development, never contracted before
RE: Young Engineer w/ offer to contract doing FEA or Test Plan Development, never contracted before
> allowance for sick days
> medical
> taxes
> overhead
> etc.
TTFN
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Of course I can. I can do anything. I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
RE: Young Engineer w/ offer to contract doing FEA or Test Plan Development, never contracted before
That aside, I know the main goal of contracting is to milk a current contract for all its worth when you get it. I'm hoping there will be a option to continue after 6 months, but there's no telling I guess. So, without using a typical firm, I'd be out of any services to hunt for another option for me which I'm still not totally sure about at this stage.
RE: Young Engineer w/ offer to contract doing FEA or Test Plan Development, never contracted before
This is unethical at best. The main goal should be to provide the customer with the services you've contracted at the price you negotiated.
TTFN
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
Need help writing a question or understanding a reply? forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers
Of course I can. I can do anything. I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!