The hidden costs of contractor reliance that make outsourcing more expensive than it appears.
Contractor hourly rate: $100-200/hr. Full-time equivalent: $75-125/hr (fully loaded). But contractors are often 2x the rate because: onboarding overhead (repeated), knowledge loss at contract end, lower accountability, coordination tax with permanent team.
Rule of thumb: contractors for surge capacity and specialized skills only. Core product work should always be permanent team. The break-even point: if you need the role for >9 months, hire full-time.
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11 minPublished Work
This article expands on ideas from my published work in CIO.com, Built In, Mind the Product, and HackerNoon. View published articles →
The Product Economist — Quantifying engineering economics for technology leaders, PE firms, and boards.