danieljean - 5:05 pm on Jan 4, 2004 (gmt 0)

This might not be a popular post, but here goes...

The prices quoted in the webpriceindex are outrageous; you could easily divide that by half in my area, even by 2/3.

In any case, those are merely averages. It's amazing to me that there are a lot of "web designers" out there churning out bloated pages with dreamweaver expecting $100/hr. And if they add even more bloat with applet menus and flash, they ask for more! Really good designers that develop brands are worth every penny, and I don't expect them to know HTML, flash or javascript; that's the web-authors' work.

Finally, if a mechanic or plumber is making $50/hr, there's no reason to me to value our work anymore than that. Our work is more fun, and we get to be creative. You'd have to pay me more money to work those trades! And seriously, as long as it takes about the same amount of education for either trade, it seems pretty greedy to want more just because your job is more intellectual.

$50/hr is a good wage. Unless you're living in an area with inflated wages or adding extraordinary value, I would have a hard time justifying paying anyone that much.