EC Container 4
Aug 2010
Something for nothing!
Always on the lookout for new areas in which to find work, I have recently signed up to http://www.peopleperhour.com/.
This site allows freelancers in many different fields of work, to bid for jobs that are posted online by companies and individuals.
For instance a company may want a new Logo and branding for their marketing, and can post their exact requirements on line, with either an expected budget, or fixed fee for the work, plus a deadline for the work to be completed, and freelance graphic designers can bid to do the work.
However, after viewing many of the jobs that are posted on there, it is disheartening to see that people are expecting work to be carried out to a professional standard by freelance professionals for less than minimum wage!
One recently advertised job was for a professional videographer ("with professional video camera") to video a boat trip that was going to last at least 6 hours down the Thames, and supply an edited version of the video back for a fixed fee of £70!
To edit together 6 hours of footage, would take a day (minimum), so essentially they wanted someone to work for 2 x days for £70! If you say that the person worked for 7 hours each day, that would work out at £5 an hour!
Probably the most insulting job I saw on the site was posted by a Veterinary Surgeon who was looking for a bespoke PHP MySQL system to be created for his practise, that would include: a Point Of Sale system, including barcoding, database entries for customers and pets, invoicing system, stock control system, appointment system, customer and veterinary staff logins as the site would also be external facing to allow customers to be able to book appointments, needed to be accessed from two different sites, payment handling etc... etc...
His budget for all of this work? £80-£100!
And he hadn't made a mistake! This charmer also stated in a comment to someone who actually queried the budget that he "didn't want to be paying for someone's coffee breaks"!
A few disgruntled PHP professionals commented on his budget, and many stated that to do a job (and do it properly) with that many detailed requirements would take in the region of 20-30 days work. Therefore in the worst case scenario of 30 days, working 7 hours per day his budget maximum of £100 would work out at 47p per hour for the freelancer! Let's put that in context - that's 12 times less than minimum wage!
He was then asked how much he would charge to fix a broken leg on a dog, and how long that would take. Funnily enough he didn't reply to that posting!
In my opinion I believe to have quoted a budget figure like that, for that amount of work is totally insulting to a professional freelancer, and totally under-values the work of freelancers in general. OK he might not have had a clue of how long it may have taken, but he must certainly have had a rough idea of what off the shelf Veterinary software with the same capabilities would have cost, so why did he think he could attempt to get a freelancer to create a completely bespoke system for such a derisory sum?
Due to the recession and economic climate, everyone is trying to ensure that we get the best value for money that we can get at the moment. But if you want professional services, provided by professional people, you have to have a reasonable budget, and be realistic about it!
Unfortunately it seems the "something for nothing" culture is pervasive on that website, so I doubt very much if I will be getting any work via that website in the near future!
This site allows freelancers in many different fields of work, to bid for jobs that are posted online by companies and individuals.
For instance a company may want a new Logo and branding for their marketing, and can post their exact requirements on line, with either an expected budget, or fixed fee for the work, plus a deadline for the work to be completed, and freelance graphic designers can bid to do the work.
However, after viewing many of the jobs that are posted on there, it is disheartening to see that people are expecting work to be carried out to a professional standard by freelance professionals for less than minimum wage!
One recently advertised job was for a professional videographer ("with professional video camera") to video a boat trip that was going to last at least 6 hours down the Thames, and supply an edited version of the video back for a fixed fee of £70!
To edit together 6 hours of footage, would take a day (minimum), so essentially they wanted someone to work for 2 x days for £70! If you say that the person worked for 7 hours each day, that would work out at £5 an hour!
Probably the most insulting job I saw on the site was posted by a Veterinary Surgeon who was looking for a bespoke PHP MySQL system to be created for his practise, that would include: a Point Of Sale system, including barcoding, database entries for customers and pets, invoicing system, stock control system, appointment system, customer and veterinary staff logins as the site would also be external facing to allow customers to be able to book appointments, needed to be accessed from two different sites, payment handling etc... etc...
His budget for all of this work? £80-£100!
And he hadn't made a mistake! This charmer also stated in a comment to someone who actually queried the budget that he "didn't want to be paying for someone's coffee breaks"!
A few disgruntled PHP professionals commented on his budget, and many stated that to do a job (and do it properly) with that many detailed requirements would take in the region of 20-30 days work. Therefore in the worst case scenario of 30 days, working 7 hours per day his budget maximum of £100 would work out at 47p per hour for the freelancer! Let's put that in context - that's 12 times less than minimum wage!
He was then asked how much he would charge to fix a broken leg on a dog, and how long that would take. Funnily enough he didn't reply to that posting!
In my opinion I believe to have quoted a budget figure like that, for that amount of work is totally insulting to a professional freelancer, and totally under-values the work of freelancers in general. OK he might not have had a clue of how long it may have taken, but he must certainly have had a rough idea of what off the shelf Veterinary software with the same capabilities would have cost, so why did he think he could attempt to get a freelancer to create a completely bespoke system for such a derisory sum?
Due to the recession and economic climate, everyone is trying to ensure that we get the best value for money that we can get at the moment. But if you want professional services, provided by professional people, you have to have a reasonable budget, and be realistic about it!
Unfortunately it seems the "something for nothing" culture is pervasive on that website, so I doubt very much if I will be getting any work via that website in the near future!
EC Container 5