Assignment Unknown

[Isoprog]

Hi there,
I don't know I should ask this question here or not.
Suppose, if I will have to hire a programmer, that is paid, how much $ should I pay him for a single assignment?
Just for example; "I want a programmer to make a programme, which will just render a FPS camera and the map?" How much should I pay for this?
Thank you for your reply.

Regards,

[Reedbeta]

You may be interested in the most recent Game Developer Salary Survey (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23264). It quotes an average yearly salary of $85K for American game programmers, which translates into about $40 per hour (assuming 40-hour work week). To get a ballpark figure for a short-term contract you might start there and multiply by the number of hours of programmer time you expect the project to take (and estimating that is a big can of worms, to be sure).

[JarkkoL]

Except that programmer consultants don't work for gross salary rates. You have to first multiply those numbers by ~1.5x to cover employer expenses and then add ~30-40% on top of that because it's consulting work and not permanent employment. Of course, some people will do it for around $10/h but you get what you pay for ;)

[Reedbeta]

Ahh, good point - I figured contract rates might be a bit higher but I didn't realize THAT much higher. :)

[Isoprog]

Thaks for reply,
But I am still confused, as I am not a hardcore programmer, how will I know that a perticular project is going to take this much of time?
Don't you think the time of hour will vary depending upon the knowledge of a programmer! some may take short while some may take longer time!
Kindly give me some solution, cos I am going to hire same programmer for project. and I don't want to hire someone without knowing anything.

Regards,

[JarkkoL]

You will ask the consultant how much it's going to take and he/she'll come up with an estimate that's multiplied by at least 2 of his/her real estimate, if he/she has any experience in consulting ;)

[stodge]

Or you could just trawl through open source s/w until you find some ideas for what you need and do it yourself. :)

[Isoprog]

Hi,
Thank u stodge, for a favourable reply. but I know what I need. Thats why I want to hire a programmer. The only problem is I don't know how much time it will take and how much $ it will cost.
And thank u all guys.
Hope, I will find some solution.

Thanks,
Regards.