[tiraloafuera123]

19 - co-op while in well known lower end of 1st tier (not top 5) engr school - 16k/yr

20 - internship at big 5 consulting firm in NYC - 45k/yr (summer only)

21 - full time at same firm - 61k-ish

22-5 some small raises

26 - move to mid size well known federal gov consulting firm in DC - 76k/yr

27-28 - some raises to 86-90k

28 - smaller/mid consulting firm - 125k

28-33 - raises through to 175k

change to independent, and hourly rates, but will list the following as yearly; however from this point, I have to pay my own taxes, insurance, retirement, etc. still better off however, as taxes are lower compared to salary/employee, and rates are higher.

34 - 200k

35 - 260k

36 - 265k

37 - 280k

38 - 300k

39 - 285k

40 - 280k

Last couple years are the same rate, but working fewer hours to enjoy work-life balance.

[iends]

How do you make the leap to consulting? Any special skills allowing that rate?

[tiraloafuera123]

How did I? or how does one? ;-)

I feel I got lucky in a way. Along the way I met one small company owner that I worked with on project to bring in some of their developers onto my team. A few years later they were looking for a contractor. Right at that time another coworker bluntly told me that I was way undervalued and literally gave me an hourly rate that they felt I could easily ask for. I asked for even a little more ;-) And got it!

The work is _exactly_ the same. Again, lucky. The logistics of starting the company can be facilitated with a good tax professional/accountant. The majority of that is paperwork.

The technical skills are a combination of deep expertise in both front end and back end, which is kind of rare in government contracting, plus the big 5 consulting background, which gives you credibility, plus being honest about what you know and dont know. Believe it or not, honesty goes a long way. It's your personal brand, after all.