Intern/Contract Payment

[Spencer135]

Hi,

There was a thread like this earlier, but my case is a little different...I was contracted (sort of a student internship) by a local company (I'm in high school). I will be working with Zigbee, and TI CC2530 Microcontrollers. The question I have is how much I should charge for a project like this? I honestly have very little idea how long this will take, as this is my first time working on a project like this. Any suggestions? I wish I could tell you more about the project, but I'm under contract not to. What I can tell you is I will be working with motion detectors, sound generators (or speakers), and maybe some video display connected through zigbee, which is comparative to wifi or bluetooth (I won't have to program zigbee, it's pretty much automatic).

Thanks for any help.

[WingedPanther]

I would try to negotiate an hourly payment.

[Spencer135]

What would a good hourly wage be? He expects me to come up with a number.

[WingedPanther]

Do some local job searches on entry-level programming salaries in your area. Monster.com or any of those should be able to give you a rough idea. It really does depend on where you live. NYC has a much higher cost-of-living than South Carolina, for example. My wife suggested $10-$12.

[TkTech]

To be honest, I would normally ask for a higher rate, or (like I usually do) charge a flat fee, requiring a completion date and a strict list of requirements. However...

In your case, take what you can get. If they don't want to pay you that much, go lower. Also note that minimum wage for people under 16 are usually lower then adults (18, which most jobs on Monster are targeted at.) This is an excellent chance to get something on your resume and a good reference. Good luck!