If you need the money, don't take the job

Language and Tone (“Scheme” vs “Plan”)

• Several commenters react to the word “scheme” as implying dishonesty in American English, while others explain it is neutral in British English (e.g., pension scheme).
• Some see the word choice as hinting at lingering impostor syndrome around high rates.
• General agreement that the underlying advice is solid despite minor wording quibbles.

Being “Reassuringly Expensive” and Value Signaling

• Many agree that high rates can reassure clients: they feel they’ve handed the problem to a top expert and can stop worrying.
• A common framing: clients are paying for confidence and for making the problem “someone else’s problem,” not just hours.
• Several note that charging more often leads to better clients and more interesting projects.

Fixed-Price vs Hourly vs Retainers

• Strong debate:
  • Pro-hourly: clearer incentives, easier to handle changing scope, less adversarial around “what counts as a change.”
  • Pro–fixed price: better client experience, aligned incentives if you include a bug-fix warranty, encourages efficiency, offers autonomy to the consultant.
• Multiple people stress that fixed price only works well with tight scope, short duration, and fast, explicit change orders; otherwise risk and conflict spike.
• Retainers are framed as a “cheat code”: recurring revenue for availability, but risky if overbooked. Some structure them as weekly/monthly hour bands with “use it or lose it.”

Incentives, Budgeting, and (In)Efficiency

• Long tangent on how big companies and governments share perverse budget incentives: spend the full budget or risk cuts.
• Disagreement over whether private firms are systematically more efficient; anecdotes show large corporations can be as wasteful and political as government.

Consultants vs Full-Time Employees

• Hiring-side voices prefer building full-time teams, noting onboarding cost and knowledge transfer issues with consultants.
• Others emphasize consultants’ niche expertise, speed in crises, and freedom from internal politics.
• Mixed views on wealth: some say independent consultants rarely get truly rich; others argue in certain markets consulting has a higher income ceiling than employment.

Client Quality, Discounts, and Boundaries

• Broad agreement that discount-seeking or budget-constrained clients often become the worst engagements.
• Many endorse being able to say no, structuring contracts with milestones, and explicitly pricing “availability” and scope changes.