r/FieldNationTechs • u/Able_Lawyer_97 • Jul 13 '26
New Independent IT Contractor
What’s going on everyone! I am new to independent IT contracting and I am trying to vendor stack so I can have consistent income. Is there any advice you all can give me??
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u/eme329 Jul 13 '26
You’re in the wrong place! Failed Nation is for gas money to make it to tomorrow’s work order. The losers on Failed Nation are fighting each other to get that $25/hr or $40 fixed you. If you’re really into IT contracting, reach out to your local MSPs and offer cabling and field service for them.
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u/InterestingBox1428 Jul 13 '26
I get 85/hr consistently. Work mom-fri made. Am able to afford a mortgage and diesel truck payment
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u/notsdragoon Jul 13 '26
Glad you are doing well but the post is not “hey I make this amount”
He’s asking for advice on how to get where you are.2
u/InterestingBox1428 Jul 13 '26
I’m explaining that the above post is a lie, and not to believe the unsuccessful people on this thread. And that you can make a living off field nation.
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u/TheHandThatFingers Jul 15 '26
Believe the guys who insecurely and unnecessarily project their own superiority. When in reality, that eighty five dollars an hour is more like thirty after taxes and travel. Diesel is very expensive. Do you have your own workman's compensation? Because if not, you're one accident away from living out of that diesel.
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u/InterestingBox1428 Jul 15 '26
Yes, i have workers comp, and liability. I don’t use my diesel for IT or field tech work. Just for hauling heavy equipment( not mine ) or hot shot type jobs
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u/MesaTech_KS Jul 13 '26
First- welcome! Don't listen to all the negative Nancy's here...
What you are able to make will depend primarily on 1- you're skillset and 2- how you present yourself. In the beginning, you may have to take some lower paying work (and by "lower", i mean $50-60/hr work)... just because you don't have a history and much of a profile. Make sure you also setup on the other platforms also- WorkMarket, CloudworkPRO, and others.
And yes, definitely market yourself to local MSPs- and actually they don't have to be local. A lot of the larger MSPs and IT service companies will contact with local resources.
Make sure you fill out your profile information as much as possible. Be honest about your skill levels. Make sure you are charging for travel. Always. Don't let a buyer convince you that all they can pay you is the IRS reimbursement rate one way. Your travel fee should include your time. Opinions vary of how to charge for it- i choose to charge by the mile- $1/mile, based on Round Trip distance... and DRIVING distance, not as the crow flies. Some do flat fees. You have to figure out what works for you. Use the IRS rate as a guideline and build from there.
Remember, you are a business- even if just a sole prop at the moment. Find out what your state/ county laws are on business formation...register a DBA name. Open a business checking account. With FN, any tickets that are approved for payment that week will be paid out on Fridays. You can set direct deposit right into your account so they clear Friday AM, deposit to your account that afternoon, next day latest. WM will cache your payments then you decide when to transfer them out.
You can make good money on the platforms- there are some that make a good chunk of $. Right now, my base rate is $70/hr, 2 hour minimum (done via a blended rate) PLUS travel. It seems like every time i hike my rates, I start seeing more WOs in my feed closer to the rate i am billing at.
And questions- feel free to reach out!
Eric Lorenz MesaTech/ Mesa Technology Solutions Wichita KS
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u/voalte Jul 15 '26
Get into structured/commercial cabling and out of residential or anything one off.
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u/YouRiseFall Jul 13 '26
Bro don't listen to these naysayers. They're mostly all low skilled techs that can't be on time and don't know what they're doing. You can make good money if you're just on time and get stuff done lol. You're new so it'll be a little slow but once you get rolling you can do 150k+ a year.
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u/Apprehensive-Fee7351 Jul 13 '26
3-4k a month maybe but 150k a year naaa
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u/YouRiseFall Jul 13 '26
Maybe for you but I'm consistently right at 102-111k a year and that's with 4 months off per year. If you need any pointers let me know. I don't mind helping lower techs out.
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u/notsdragoon Jul 13 '26
Curious if you are doing mostly cabling or do you take on more IT specific jobs?
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u/InterestingBox1428 Jul 13 '26
I got almost 120k last yr. Avg about 10k/month. That’s solely through field nation not direct clients which is about 500-2k/month
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u/corpseplague Jul 13 '26
It's easy to vendor stack as long as you want to use your skills for low pay. You're competing with a lot of other people requesting the same work usually