I've always wondered why freelance developers compare to plumbers/electricians. You will hire the plumber for 3-4 hours of work and that's it - he'll be on his way. But we will be there for days/weeks/months.
I agree in charging as much as you want if you can solve a problem noone else can. In ~2002 a company had serious database issues with reporting queries running for over 24 hours. So they hired 2 people who charged 600 pounds each an hour. They both worked on the problem for 2 days and brought down the execution time to 3 minutes. In that case yeah, I think they can charge as much as they want.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a developer as well and I know the difference between a 40/h and a 80/h developer. But I believe an hourly rate must depend on how long you'll be working on that project, what you'll be doing as well and how critical it is.
I agree in charging as much as you want if you can solve a problem noone else can. In ~2002 a company had serious database issues with reporting queries running for over 24 hours. So they hired 2 people who charged 600 pounds each an hour. They both worked on the problem for 2 days and brought down the execution time to 3 minutes. In that case yeah, I think they can charge as much as they want.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a developer as well and I know the difference between a 40/h and a 80/h developer. But I believe an hourly rate must depend on how long you'll be working on that project, what you'll be doing as well and how critical it is.