Working part-time might be more profitable than one might intuitively think. This is due to two factors: the first is that, at least in Israel, the income tax is progressive, making the marginal earning smaller; the second is that in some circumstances a freelancer or a consultant can earn even more per hour than a full-time employee.
Others thinking about this very sensible path of “part-time EtG” might scan a book like this one. The author (a long-term independent consultant who also helps part- and full-time expert contractors set up their practices) validates your approach from a slightly different angle. In a section that reads Make Certain You Charge Enough, Katcher writes that many new consultants think it is better to have a low-paying client than no client at all, which he describes as a “mistaken belief.” He advocates for protecting a consultant’s personal time and perceived value in the marketplace.
Potential part-time EtG practitioners might think about the demand for their time as a labor supply-demand curve in miniature. Given consulting clients 1, 2, and 3 below, someone looking at EtG might declineto serve client 3 in order to free up those 15 hours of workday support a week for self-study, formal study, or other rewarding independent projects (exercise, cooking, writing, etc.):
Client that requires ~15 hours a week of support and is willing to pay $150 (or €150/£150/etc.) an hour, with limited career capital benefits for the consultant
Client that requires ~10 hours a week of support and is willing to pay $75 (or €75/£75/etc. ) an hour, with significant career capital benefits for the consultant
Client that requires ~15 hours a week of support and is willing to pay $75 (or €75/£75/etc. ) an hour, with limited career capital benefits for the consultant
Declining client 3 can also provide the part-time EtG contractor more workday time to identify and pitch to prospective clients who are even more profitable or desirable from a career capital perspective than clients 1 and 2. (Of course, individuals might want to mentally reorder those in terms of price points, hours, etc., if helpful to think ex ante about the shadow price of one’s time and what categories of career capital one might value.) Thanks for this thoughtful write-up, and best wishes for your new PhD studies and set of projects!
Regarding this valuable excerpt:
Others thinking about this very sensible path of “part-time EtG” might scan a book like this one. The author (a long-term independent consultant who also helps part- and full-time expert contractors set up their practices) validates your approach from a slightly different angle. In a section that reads Make Certain You Charge Enough, Katcher writes that many new consultants think it is better to have a low-paying client than no client at all, which he describes as a “mistaken belief.” He advocates for protecting a consultant’s personal time and perceived value in the marketplace.
Potential part-time EtG practitioners might think about the demand for their time as a labor supply-demand curve in miniature. Given consulting clients 1, 2, and 3 below, someone looking at EtG might decline to serve client 3 in order to free up those 15 hours of workday support a week for self-study, formal study, or other rewarding independent projects (exercise, cooking, writing, etc.):
Client that requires ~15 hours a week of support and is willing to pay $150 (or €150/£150/etc.) an hour, with limited career capital benefits for the consultant
Client that requires ~10 hours a week of support and is willing to pay $75 (or €75/£75/etc. ) an hour, with significant career capital benefits for the consultant
Client that requires ~15 hours a week of support and is willing to pay $75 (or €75/£75/etc. ) an hour, with limited career capital benefits for the consultant
Declining client 3 can also provide the part-time EtG contractor more workday time to identify and pitch to prospective clients who are even more profitable or desirable from a career capital perspective than clients 1 and 2. (Of course, individuals might want to mentally reorder those in terms of price points, hours, etc., if helpful to think ex ante about the shadow price of one’s time and what categories of career capital one might value.) Thanks for this thoughtful write-up, and best wishes for your new PhD studies and set of projects!