Posted by mike on May 01, 2001 at 23:13:20:
In Reply to: Article recovery - What should I charge? posted by Ed L. on May 01, 2001 at 20:07:09:
i've done environmental consulting for anywhere from $15.00 per hour for environmental groups to $125.00 per hour for homeowners' associations and others. I figure that the skill and expertise in Scuba ought to be roughly equivalent to a partial vocational certification of sorts, and as such, ought to be worth an absolute dead minimum of $40.00 to $50.00 per hour with the current employment situation. If you look at what building contractors can charge for their hired help, or what plumbers charge by the hour, you could probably try for $65.00 to 80.00 per hour or even up to $200.00 per hour if you have to put wear and tear on your own equipment (lift bag, BC, boat etc....you'll scratch the sides you know!) etc. What about the exposure to waterborne pathogens? Is this lake clean? Such conditions demand extra pay, as does coming out on a Sunday morning. Be sure to add milage to the dive site (last i checked, the IRS allowed 31 cents per mile). Try for a four hour minimum, given that you have to suit up, clean your gear afterwards, haul the junk out of the boat/on to shore etc, and perhaps dispose of it somewhere. BTW, if it was any deeper than 15 fsw, the rate would increase also. The commercial divers on this BBS ought to fill you in on that aspect.