tomeaton17:

Hello IET Members. 


I am currently in the third year of my undergraduate EEE course. I have been approached by a company, where I was an intern before university, to design a small PCB for them. 


They are asking me for a quote. As I have not entered the world of work yet, I do not know what is a reasonable hourly rate for PCB design consultation, especially someone at my stage in the career. 


So, could other members give me a ballpark figure of how much I should be charging per hour?


Many thanks,


Tom

As an electrician I charge for parts, plus a mark up, plus an hourly rate. So if you work for 2 hours making the item you charge say £100.00 plus parts. If this is a "one off" prototype  then you can charge more than if it is a production run of say 100, as then you will have to be very competitive, as you will be quoting against other possible suppliers. You could ask other companies what they charge for a similar item to get an idea of currents costs, or look in electronic sales' catalogues or online. If sourced from say China the cost of a similar circuit board will be very inexpensive. Do not forget hidden costs like carriage, insurance, heating and lighting and any consumables or tools etc.


Consultants can earn big bucks, so do not undersell yourself. Also do not let the company steal your design and not pay you. Perhaps you could make a working prototype and then encapsulate it (pot it) just to show it working, but that method hides its essential component parts.


If just providing circuit  diagrams charge an hourly rate for your work. You should not work for nothing.


Z.


 

tomeaton17:

Hello IET Members. 


I am currently in the third year of my undergraduate EEE course. I have been approached by a company, where I was an intern before university, to design a small PCB for them. 


They are asking me for a quote. As I have not entered the world of work yet, I do not know what is a reasonable hourly rate for PCB design consultation, especially someone at my stage in the career. 


So, could other members give me a ballpark figure of how much I should be charging per hour?


Many thanks,


Tom

As an electrician I charge for parts, plus a mark up, plus an hourly rate. So if you work for 2 hours making the item you charge say £100.00 plus parts. If this is a "one off" prototype  then you can charge more than if it is a production run of say 100, as then you will have to be very competitive, as you will be quoting against other possible suppliers. You could ask other companies what they charge for a similar item to get an idea of currents costs, or look in electronic sales' catalogues or online. If sourced from say China the cost of a similar circuit board will be very inexpensive. Do not forget hidden costs like carriage, insurance, heating and lighting and any consumables or tools etc.


Consultants can earn big bucks, so do not undersell yourself. Also do not let the company steal your design and not pay you. Perhaps you could make a working prototype and then encapsulate it (pot it) just to show it working, but that method hides its essential component parts.


If just providing circuit  diagrams charge an hourly rate for your work. You should not work for nothing.


Z.