Need advise on how much to charge

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Good day to all!

I am both a registered nurse and registered medical technologist in the Philippines. I am also a Vermont State-registered nurse.

I would like to ask for advise on how much to charge for a job that I'm doing. Right now, I am not employed as a nurse. Somebody from the US (a friend of a relative) has asked me to do a job for him. Basically, it entails research and editing work. Basically, there is a morificecript that he sent me and what I have to do is edit, update, and improve it. I use information from books I bought (latest editions) and also from the internet. It's not very easy and I my head and eyes hurt from looking at so many information. It's not very easy to filter just the essential information to put in the morificecript.

My question is, how should I charge for the work I do? I've only started last Monday and I truthfully record the amount of time I put in the job (thanks to the clock at the system tray :chuckle ). His initial offer according to my relative was less than USD 200 a month which I thought was really small. Even secretaries and minimum wage earners here in Manila earn much more than that! And should the project click, he's bound to earn thousands of dollars, and for years to come too! I am a professional with good credentials. If I may, I know that I have a lot upstairs. I thought that he was going to pay me by the hour. THat's what I would like actually. If I do, how much should I charge? I don't want to be underpaid or overpaid. I just want to be paid what is just.

Thank you all for your help.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Since your job doesn't appear to be nursing-related, I'm not sure that your nursing credentials should enter into the "how much should I charge?" equation. You need to find the going rate for a research/edit assistant.

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You are astute enough to believe you're being offered too little. Do the above suggested research and make a decision from that.

good luck!

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Oncology, HIV, ENT.

You are doing the work of a medical writer. The average annual salary of a medical writer is $50 - 60,000 per year or about $25/hr.

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You are doing the work of a medical writer. The average annual salary of a medical writer is $50 - 60,000 per year or about $25/hr.

The op is in Manila. Cost of living and wages are very, very different there. In an area where a round of golf, with caddy, and someone to hold the umbrella, and a cart is about $18, economics have a very different meaning than in other places. In a non-resort area in the U.S., a similar day of golf would be at least $100. So, what is research and editing worth in Manila?

I would go with the "whatever a research assistant makes in your area" answer.

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Thank you all for you replies. My work is definitely nursing-related. It needs an expertise of a nurse, and only a nurse. To be more precise, my 'work' involves information about drugs and medications. So there. I was thinking of charging, maybe USD $8-10/hour. That's not too much is it? I mean, minimum wage earners in the US earn somewhere around that amount or higher right? Even if I don't live in the US, and the cost of living is much lower in Manila, I'm sure, that rate is already cheap right?

Again, thank you so much for your insights.

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Try this link. See if it helps in your situation. http://www.publishinghelp.com/sredsal.htm

I'm really confused though. As I understand by your post, you started the work last Monday. Does this mean you are doing the work without having set a price on the job? Why? :no: Even a minimum wage earner knows how much they are being paid before beginning their first shift. If he/she is paying $200 a month, that breaks down to $50.00 a week. Even if you only put in 20 hours a week on the project, that's only $2.00 an hour. Don't you feel that your time is worth more than that? Not trying to scold, but it sure seems like you are being taken advantage of.

My advice...1) Stop doing the work. 2) Decide what your time is worth. (at least minimum wage USD if project in coming from the states.) 3) Contact this person with what you want to make. If the project is at all important to them, and has any chance of turning a profit, they should be willing to pay for your time. Hope this helps

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Try this link. See if it helps in your situation. http://www.publishinghelp.com/sredsal.htm

I'm really confused though. As I understand by your post, you started the work last Monday. Does this mean you are doing the work without having set a price on the job? Why? :no: Even a minimum wage earner knows how much they are being paid before beginning their first shift. If he/she is paying $200 a month, that breaks down to $50.00 a week. Even if you only put in 20 hours a week on the project, that's only $2.00 an hour. Don't you feel that your time is worth more than that? Not trying to scold, but it sure seems like you are being taken advantage of.

I took on the job, albeit very reluctantly, because the person is my mother's former co-worker. I'm not sure if I can qualify them as friends. I took it because I wanted to see if I can do it properly and if he will be satisfied with my job. If not, then he would need to find someone else to do it. However, with our latest correspondence, it seemed that he was Ok with the quality of my work. Just a needed few more improvements.

To be more exact, my job is to make drug monographs. Using published drug guides (Lippincott, Springhouse etc) and information from the internet ( online drug guides, literature from the drug manufacturer's website), I 'attempt' to make really concise monographs. My 'boss' has put an emphasis on really making the nursing considerations very brief, concise, and easy to understand. He says, this would help in preventing from us getting sued for copyright violations. For my part, I try to paraphrase all the info as much as I can so I don't commit plagiarism (I hope). AFter this, it would be made electronically available. So there.

My advice...1) Stop doing the work. 2) Decide what your time is worth. (at least minimum wage USD if project in coming from the states.) 3) Contact this person with what you want to make. If the project is at all important to them, and has any chance of turning a profit, they should be willing to pay for your time. Hope this helps

I hope you can all give me guidance on what to do. My 'boss' was amenable to paying by the hour. He even wrote "Just give me the numbers". I hope he really means that.

Thank you all for your advices.

PS. Is there a job title for this kind of thing? I am not so sure if it can be called medical writing.

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The Phillipines is a very poor, third-world country. That's why all the nurses there want to get the hell out of there and come to the USA lol. The wages there, when compared to the USA, are unbelieveably low. What you would pay an editor here in the USA would be MUCH more than what you would pay someone in Manilla, Phillipines.

It sounds to me like the dude you're doing this for is looking for a Manilla type pricetag. (which translates into USA spare change - literally). Just a side note... but it doesn't make sense to hire an editor raised in Manilla to do English editing, either.

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Specializes in CTICU.

When I did this kind of work for a device company, I charged $100/hr. That was in Australia though.

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The Phillipines is a very poor, third-world country. That's why all the nurses there want to get the hell out of there and come to the USA lol. The wages there, when compared to the USA, are unbelieveably low. What you would pay an editor here in the USA would be MUCH more than what you would pay someone in Manilla, Phillipines.

It sounds to me like the dude you're doing this for is looking for a Manilla type pricetag. (which translates into USA spare change - literally). Just a side note... but it doesn't make sense to hire an editor raised in Manilla to do English editing, either.

Like I said, the job needs an expertise of a NURSE. I AM a US registered nurse. It doesn't matter where the person is RAISED as long as he/she's got the right credentials and qualifications to do the job. I'm sorry but I find your statement offensive. Being raised in Manila does not mean that I can't do English editing. Even if English is not my first language, I can very well use it. Please avoid posting such insensitive statements.

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