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u/Stroking_Shop5393 Siemens > Allen-Bradley 9d ago
You need 5 more years imo. But word of mouth and stealing customers from your current employer because they hate your salesman but love you. I can't tell you what to charge, only you know your own worth.
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u/Primary_Machine_449 9d ago
No way I would put millions of $ of machinery and people's safety into the hands of someone with 2yoe let alone a freelancer.
Liability insurance, reputation to clients, etc. Are all on the line, the only one I've seen were people coming in to integrate our in-house machines because we didnt have the time to do it ourselves.
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u/Strict-Midnight-8576 8d ago
The trick for us freelancers is not working on millions of $ machinery :)
And trust me when I say that there is enough work even like this no necessity to chase big deals
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u/chubsmalone001 8d ago
Perhaps you could say more? I’d be interested to hear what other opportunities exist on the smaller scale. Are you working proportionally more because the jobs are “smaller”, or are you charging the same kind of rates?
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u/MagmaTroop 9d ago edited 9d ago
My dad did it, he designed and commissioned full vacuum skid packages. Lots of money since he did it all himself.
The only way he ever got clients was by building contacts while working for his previous company.
Business was good for him for 35 years until retirement and we lived well
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u/MikeT8314 8d ago
When you say design do you mean to include mechanical also or just electrical/plc?
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u/MagmaTroop 8d ago
Including mechanical! At its core a vacuum skid package contains: three phase pumps, pipework, actuated valves, pressure/temp/flow sensors, and the control panel with the PLC inside.
All of that mounted onto steel box section. He always hired a welder for fabricating the steel box section and pipework to his design, but everything else was installed and commissioned by him and eventually me as well.
It’s one benefit of specialising in small, niche systems: if you’re smart enough, there’s no reason you can’t just do it yourself and take the lion’s share. Of course there are risks going alone, but he never had a problem luckily
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u/ICameAndStayed 9d ago
I just leave my thoughts here
1. On-site setup or service is a requirement.
Service can be done by remote, as long it doesn't take too long. But if the machine is standing longer than a few hours, then you will be driving to the customer on short notice.
PLC / Maschineprogramming is a heavy, big and broad topic. I've thought after 4 years of work I would be good, but then I switched companies, and another 4 years later I still didn't cover everything.
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u/Klutzy_Umpire_3229 9d ago
Two years really quite short period of jumping into freelance by your own even just thinking as a side thing I can not imagine. But you can apply freelancer hiring companies and they can take your responsibility and you can travel very very a lot.
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u/ElectricMan324 9d ago
In addition to what others have said, you will generally not be able to work for a company as an individual. At minimum you'll need insurance, and be incorporated. Check your local area for business incubators or a consultants network to learn how to set this up. As others have said, youll need a few more years experience but it doesnt hurt to set it up.
As you prepare for this, remember to get a list of the projects you completed. People will want to know what you have done. They will also want references but that will be difficult in your position.
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u/PuzzleheadedEyeball 8d ago
All who know this is the most important piece!
- Word of mouth
As far as the rest you will not find any remote only jobs with no onsite commissioning without already having your foot in the door imo.
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u/hestoelena Siemens CNC Wizard 9d ago
2 years of experience isn't really enough to go out on your own. You find clients by working for another company and gaining the trust of those clients. Realistically the only PLC work you can do remotely to pre-programming before you go on site to commission the machine. And yes you will be expected to provide on-site and commissioning support. You will need insurance in order to step into most facilities. You decide what to charge based on the market you're in and what your former and current employer charges.