advice on dh's salary

My husband does contract computer work (in business for himself) and one of his steady clients wants to know what it would take to get him full-time. He does project design/management for their IT department. They aren't giving us ANY clue how much they are willing to pay. Just that they are getting rid of all their Dallas contractors (due to Katrina and moving their NO office up here....) for the time being, but they don't want to loose Chris.

So, considering we have nothing to go on :rolleyes, how do you come up with a number? Right now, he does work for them on an hourly basis. I'm sure we'd get some kind of benefits if he went full time, but not sure what that would cover. We currently have a private insurance policy.

What percentage of hourly pay should he ask for if he goes permanant? They want an answer in the next couple of hours.

And it looks like it's this, or he may lose his steady work with them.

He of course will continue doing other contract work.

Does he know anyone who is not contract doing the same thing? I would ask them about what they make. Or do you have a round number for what he makes a year doing contract work? You definately want it at least that much if not more. (If he will not be doing that anymore.)

Can't you do a search on Monster for it? Or one of the big consulting companies?


I would say benefits would play a huge part in the salary. Aim high and let them come down!

See, I hate benefits. I'm pretty picky about my HCPs, and I don't want to pick from an "approved list" of dr/dentists.... I'd rather pay out-of-pocket and use whoever I like best. I'd hate for Chris' income to go down significantly so that we can have "benefits" that don't benefit our family.

Can you decline company benefits if you don't like what they offer?

I did the salary wizard on Monster and it was no help. There were a kazzillon questions where the answers to choose from didn't fit at all....

I don't think there's any rhyme or reason to IT salaries these days.... I seriously can't figure it out anymore.

I can deline benefits here at work if I show proof that I have other insurance else where (with my dh's work) then I actually get extra money added to my paycheck for the amount they would have been paying to the insurance company. Not a whole lot, but a little. Better than nothing.

That's how Jason got on with his company. He was in telecom, working for another company as a tech. His current company was their client and decided to bring telecom in house.

I would take what he makes hourly as a starting point. I think you'll still need to figure in benefits, not just medical/dental but 401k, vacation, etc. If he's going straight salary make sure to figure in overtime. Many times people who work a lot of overtime (on call, after hours, etc), don't figure out the overtime hours they would have made if they were an hourly employee.

Hope that makes some sense!

I don't have any advice, but I wish him good luck. We were kind of in this position a few months ago. To go permanent or remain contract. We decided to go perm. for the benefits. Let us know how it turns out.

Just a comment about having to choose drs from a list ... find out what the ins company is. Many companies have VERY good lists, and they may also offer an out-of-network benefit - lower benefits for going to someone not on the list.

When the managed care insurance was a new thing, my company switched to it and we did not have a choice. The list of drs was not very good. But now, I can easily find drs that I'm willing to go to that are on the list.

I can deline benefits here at work if I show proof that I have other insurance else where (with my dh's work) then I actually get extra money added to my paycheck for the amount they would have been paying to the insurance company. Not a whole lot, but a little. Better than nothing.

I used to work in the employee benefits arena. Typically, you are free to decline benefits without providing proof of coverage elsewhere. You just sign a form stating you wish to decline.

Some companies will pay you the extra money like the situation referenced above, but that is entirely up to the employer's discretion. If the employer chooses to do this, they MAY ask you to provide proof of other coverage.

As one of the other posts suggested, it is always wise to consider the entire benefit package that is offered, not just the medical insurance. Good luck to your family. I know this is a tough decision.

As far as salary I know there are some web sites that help you to figure out what to ask for. As a nurse when I moved here for North Carolina I found a site(can't remember the name) that told me what I was worth and the range to ask for based on the COL in the Dallas area.

Well....here's the update.

Chris is doing independant contract work for company X. They just paid to relocate 70 families up to Dallas from New Orleans, so they're cutting out most of their non-essential contracts. BUT, they have decided to give Chris a month to finish up designing some software that company X is looking to promote to company Y. If company Y decides to invest, then company X has said that they will discuss bringing Chris on full-time with benefits. They said that the salary range he requested was "more or less in line with what they were thinking".

Chris gave them a range and said where in the range he would accept would, of course, depend also on the benefits offered, vacation, etc... Left a bit of wiggle room open for salary negotiation.

So Chris will have a big meeting with companies X and Y sometime around the third week of October. They've basically said, it'll be a full-time job offer, or the project will be cut at that point entirely.

So, we wait....

Yikes! That is kind of scary, isn't it?

Our insurance is pretty good, also. We have an out of network benefit + the in network stuff. The list is pretty significant. For dental, there is no list, we just go to whoever we want. I know that our insurance actually paid a better benefit for having a baby at a birthing center vs a hospital.

I hope whatever the scoop is, works out 100% best for your family overall.

<HUGS>
Delilah
http://www.cherishbirth.com

The meeting is set for this Saturday, Oct. 29th. I'm so glad that they couldn't get everyone to meet last week - Chris really needed the extra time to get everything done! Chris worked 80 hours last week preparing (poor thing has only taken one day off in the last month and a half!). He's got this week to finish up testing and put the finishing touches on it.

Then it's out of his hands, and just a matter of if he and his team can convince the big wigs to invest on Saturday.

He's been preparing for this day since March, and it's all coming down to the wire. And it's going to be an all or nothing deal. So please think good thoughts!

Oh, Cori! We will be thinking about you guys! I hope it all works out for him.

Hope all goes well for you all.

I have my fingers crossed for you guys!! Let us know how it goes.... I can't believe your wait is almost over! :)