HONESTLY.... How much do people make with Flash??

[slowmo]

I posted this on the newbie forum, and really didn't get much response.

I'm really not interested in what you HEARD somebody made... "I know a guy, who's brother's 2nd cousin makes...."

I would like to hear from the actual people making the money.

What do you make? On the other forum a few told me what they made on a particular project, and that doesn't help much... What do you make hourly? And do you charge differently for doing the original site vs. updating it?

To use a trite, overused expression "SHOW ME THE MONEY!!"

Thanks so much for the help and the info!!!

[chewy_soup]

I am currently working as a contractor on a a major project (by the end I will have been on it 12 months) and I am on GB£22 per hour. I also know that I am getting paid much less than everyone else in the office (age experience etc) others are on £25-50.

[clueless1]

saw your post and i have wondered the same thing myself. i know how much i make but i have no idea what other people are making. i'm not at an expert level and i'm not entry level either. i make $30,000 a year. salary. is that the average? i have no idea. the cost of living in my state is very low so that should be taken into consideration also. i feel pretty lucky and i work with nice people too.


hope that helps. hope other people reply. i am curious. is there more money in freelance or working for a company? at least with a company you don't have to find clients.

[beauanderson]

Yea, there is a lot of money to be made if you use your talents for yourself instead of another company. This requires a few things:

1. Programming Knowledge
2. Knowing when to get outside help (for me this means
help with the graphical concept and design)
3. Marketing. You need to make yourself known.

This is a good start, and there is a ton of $$$ to be made if you target the right sites. One particularly profitable site for me was:

http://www.bantv.com

Sites like this take several people with different talents. The ones that make $$$ off of it are the ones that contracted the job, not employees that are hired.

[fpanko]

as beauanderson said it depends on alot of things. i started at 35/year now am over 50/year plus extra for freelance work and its not hard to get more. but realy you need o know more than flash to make good money. I use html, css,xml,php,mysql, all the basic design apps and am still learning. Its becoming harder to make alot if you only have one skill. Broaden your horizons.

[clueless1]

to me that sounds like a fortune. i'm not a programmer, though. i'm more front end than back end. i use photoshop, flash 5, some adobe premiere. i know html and can utilize some javascript too. i started out as a regular web designer and accidently found Flash and fell in love. I've been learning some actionscripting as well. lynda.com has a GREAT flash 5 actionscripting CDRom that helped a lot. here's link i posted over in site check if you're interested in looking at my skill level and determining if my salary seems on target. or at least seeing the kind of work that someone in my salary range produces. this is a personal site. not for a client. i just needed to vent a little creatively. it's a very silly site so disregard the content. i've been told the navigation is too subtle (hard to find). click on the blinking circles under the graphic.

http://www.evillawyerboy.com

[fpanko]

clueless1
you've got some real tallent. just keep practicing and other thing that you could tie into it. One way to make more is to learn a little development. which you can get the basics of by learning complex actionscript. It also helps that I market myself as a developer or webmaster when looking for jobs. Simple designers usually make slightly less. Even if they have other skills.

[clueless1]

I guess I should look into some programming skills. Off of the subject a little, how much do you suppose a guy like Eric Jordan (2advanced.com) makes? He's at the top of his field. His work is amazing and I know he is published in some books and very well respected. You probably know exactly who I'm talking about. Do you think his work involves much programming? I wonder how he got his start.

[AGENT 02]

There are many factors that add up that take you to the next level. MANY factors! What you've done, your abilities, your work ethic, who you know in the biz, how you present yourself, how clients feel around you, etc....

-A02

[fpanko]

AGENT 02,
no doubt, i agree 100%. there are alot of things that will effect your business. even something as simple as location will change things. If you work for a company in NY or London, your likely to make more simply because cost of living is higher.

I think Eric Jordan probably does pretty well. I'd say he is extremely versed in actionscript and at least the basics of coding. Who knows though, he might be a guru of many traits. Same for Josh Davis (praystation)and Yugo (yugop). They're masters of their trait and probably do extremely well.

[fpanko]

slomo,
""What do you make hourly? And do you charge differently for doing the original site vs. updating it?""

Thing aren't exact but from past experience i can say this.
If you are working for a company. they would probably charge a client around 80-120/hr USD while paying an employee 18-30/hr UDS. If you freelance though you can offer something in the middle and make more monet while your client think he's getting a deal.

[AGENT 02]

Also consider that the market is not what it was a year ago. You still can make a great hunk of change, but clients have the luxury of being picky now. There is a lot of Flash talent swimming around lately with all the downsizing.

-A02

[*gearworx]

a junior designer makes 35k a year.. most designer should know all the basics and then some in order to make over 50K and with the economy being all this slow it is a war out to get projects, jobs or anything that will generate a good amount of moolas

[vishalsk8]

I don't really make that much. I probably make around $300 a month. But then again....I am only 14.

[kb1827]

Originally posted by vishalsk8
I don't really make that much. I probably make around $300 a month. But then again....I am only 14.

cool, i'm 13

[tone001]

Well my company charges me out at £800-£1000 UKP a day... and people seem happy with that. (Now of course I only get a percentage of that in salary!!!)

Our last contract which was 100% flash must have been worth well over a quarter of a million UKP, but it did take a year and a half of build and updating!

SO yes ... there is money to be made ... but more if you are willing to work as a team on larger projects.

[vishalsk8]

Originally posted by kb1827

cool, i'm 13

nice

[pixelengineer]

I think the whole equation is in the process of changing.
As we head towards set top box convergence an broadband delivery, the demand for flash designers and programmers will increase. Things like the announcement of the swf player for the PS2 and of course xbox are very important to the flash industy. I've personally had clients clock in from $25/hr to $80/hr. The truth is the more technical knowldge you have the better the edge you have on the pay.
pixelmemore
CW

[kb1827]

Originally posted by vishalsk8

Originally posted by kb1827

cool, i'm 13

nice

In your website, under contact, you have spelled it "conact". Just letting you know ...

[vishalsk8]

lol...thanks