How Much is Your Every Work Hour Worth?
You can earn a lot through freelancing if you do it right. To earn a decent salary in Singapore by only freelancing, you will need more than connections, clients, and skills. You will need to know how much your work is worth. We at JobStreet have come up with a salary calculator system for freelancers to find out how much they should be charging for every hour of their time.
The average monthly salary in Singapore in mid-2020 was $5,214. Meanwhile, the median gross salary of all Singaporean residents in 2020 was $4,534. If you can earn anywhere between these two amounts from only freelancing, then you can live comfortably in Singapore without having to take on a full-time job. But doing so entails a decent amount of mathematics.
Just how much should you charge for every hour of freelance work? How much is your time worth as a freelancer? Here's how to find out.
Calculate Your Freelance Salary in Singapore
Decide how many hours a day you plan to allot to freelancing.
The Ministry of Manpower has set 44 hours per employee as the maximum amount of work hours for a typical five-day or six-day work week.
Example: If you want to freelance full-time for five-day work weeks, then let's assume you'll be putting in 44 hours of work per week. That breaks down to around 9 hours per day for five days.
Set a time-frame for your freelancing period.
Is this something you want to do full-time for an entire year? Or only for a few months?
Example: If you want to do this for a year, then calculate the number of working days you can allot to freelancing. Decide on the number of vacation leaves and sick leaves you want. Then deduct the number of public holidays, vacation days, and sick days from all the working days in a year. Let's say you have 14 days of vacation leave, 14 days of sick leave, and 11 public holidays.
365 days - (2*52 weekends) - 14 vacation leaves - 14 sick leaves - 11 public holidays
Number of working days = 222 working days
Also read: The gig economy: What you need to know about freelance jobs & 5 ways to make it work for you
Set a gross salary goal.
Your goal should be to earn as much as the median or average gross salary in Singapore, which is between $4,534 and $5,214, respectively. If this is the goal per month, then your yearly salary goal should be between $54,408 and $62,568.
Example: With that, let's set the gross annual salary goal to be $58,488, the midpoint of the salary goal range.
Calculate your overhead expenses.
This is the part most freelancers forget to include in their hourly rate.
The downside of freelancing is that you don't have all the free perks of working at an office like free internet, electricity, company insurance, etc. If you're a graphic designer, then you'll have to purchase your own Adobe suite, tablet, and drawing equipment. If you're in sales, then you'll need to cover the costs of transportation to meet with clients.
Example: The overhead costs will vary per person, but for the sake of this exercise, we'll cap it at $5,000 for the year.
Now calculate your hourly rate.
Here's the formula to follow:
(Annual salary goal + overhead expenses) ÷ (working hours per day * working days) = minimum hourly rate
Example: (58,488 + 5,000) ÷ (222*9) = $31.77
There you go. For a full-time freelancer, the minimum hourly rate should be $31.77. But if you feel that's too low for you and you have the experience and expertise to justify a higher rate, then don't be afraid to raise your salary goal to the amount you believe you deserve.
If you're seeking part-time or project-based freelance jobs, check out JobStreet for the latest openings. If you're thinking of shifting back to full-time employment, JobStreet has opportunities for you too.
At JobStreet, we believe in bringing you #JobsThatMatter. As a Career Partner, we are committed to helping all jobseekers find passion and purpose in every career choice. And as the number 1 Talent Partner in Asia, we connect employers with the right candidates who truly make a positive and lasting impact on the organisation.
Discover Jobs That Matter. Visit JobStreet today.
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SEEK is a diverse group of companies, comprising a strong portfolio of online employment, educational, commercial and volunteer businesses. SEEK has a global presence (including Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, South-East Asia, Brazil and Mexico), with exposure to over 2.9 billion people and approximately 27 per cent of global GDP. SEEK makes a positive contribution to people's lives on a global scale. SEEK is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, where it is a top 100 company and has been listed in the Top 20 Most Innovative Companies by Forbes.
