Comment by gfd
4 years ago
To give a reference point, you get the equivalent of $300/hr starting around L6 at a FAANG: https://www.levels.fyi
I don't think most people realize they can hire a putnam winner and world class crypto expert for the price of a staff engineer.
a Putnam winner
Only once. ;-)
and world class crypto expert
I've made significant contributions to a few areas but I wouldn't call myself a world class crypto expert. For most projects I could name a dozen experts I would consult before myself.
> I've made significant contributions to a few areas...
Significant? I'd say tectonic.
The first-ever to find AWS-wide chink in the Amazon armor? https://www.daemonology.net/blog/2008-12-18-AWS-signature-ve...
Demonstrator of OG Spectre exploit before Google Project Zero got on the train a decade later? https://www.daemonology.net/hyperthreading-considered-harmfu...
> ...I wouldn't call myself a world class crypto expert...
Of course not: crypto doesn't mean what you think it does, anymore ;) But hey, some blockchains do use scrypt, so that's there too. https://archive.is/jS7wJ
Remember that your rack rate as a consultant should be way more than your FTE salary, often more than 2x as much.