[tptacek]

I left full time work for consulting after I did a project and discovered my bill rate was so high I could replicate my salary income while being less than 40% utilized. I wasn't doing something especially specialized; that's just what the market clearing rate for that contracting work was. I would not have guessed that rate before discovering it.

So my somewhat tangential advice is: figure out your rate, and start with a rate that doesn't require you to constantly hustle for clients to make your nut. It's easier to figure out the right (high) rate when you've still got a salary to fall back on, and much harder when you're grinding it out as a full time contractor.