Re: NEED SUBCONTRACT.... ---> SPAM / SCAM

Barnum never said that. It was actually a Barnum competitor, David Hannum.

Urban Legend, eh? Looks like the origin is disputed:
All I know, is what I've been told.

Anyone willing to do what he requested for $20 doesn't deserve to get paid, anyway.

True. Hell, for me to even bother picking up a multi-page fax off my machine and flipping through it costs more than $20. You want me to then fire up Autocad (or at least start a new drawing) and we're up to ~$50. To save it, zip it, and email it, adds another $50. So.... we're at $100 and that's without any drafting time.
I've done some surveys before (really more "plat" drawings but close enough) as part of larger jobs and while they can be pretty quick to do, it just ain't worth it for less than $200. Besides, you know he's charging the client $500+.
The other factor is costs: They pay $20 per project which after taxes is ~$14. Of course there's no benefits, $14 is it. Now for the measily $14 they expect you to have AutoCAD ($600-$3800 + upgrade costs), a computer ($1500-2000), printer ($100-$300 + consumables) and email access ($10-20/month).
Just how many $14 jobs would you have to do before you've covered your expenses and are exactly getting paid? All these to be at their beck-&-call working nights, never knowing whether or not you'll have 3 jobs to do that night or none. Geez, where do I sign up?!?!
Michael (LS)

I can kind of understand detailing 2D drawings for cheap because so many people get layed off these days and are willing to do just about anything for that little bit of income. I have been there, one time I couldn't find a job for two months and was starting to run on my reserves. To keep a long story short a previous co-worker called me and asked me to do a few drawings. I made 10 2D drawings and recieved $500. Thats only $50 a drawing. But man did that help with the bills. Anyway just thought I would throw my opinion out there.

A long time drafting supervisor once told me that he expected each of his people to produce, on average, two drawings per day.
That was for paper drawings, before CAD. I don't think CAD has made anyone more productive at generating new drawings.
So, would you work for $40 a day? I would, but only when the alternative is $0 a day.
-Mike-

I would, but I want a 20min break, twice a day, and a 1.5 hr lunch break. I also want 3 weeks vaca, and 20 sick days/year. 401k, with 100% employer participation. If I think of anything else, I'll be sure and post it.

I certainly don't mean to defend the practice, but you can get mortgage "surveys" around here for $100 or so. They're generally not worth the paper they're printed on, but they can be had.

Ever contoured 5 acres?

Yes, I have.
I sharpened the pencils, packed the field box, placed the stick on every data point, drew the plat, distributed the closing error, redrew the plat, plotted the points, drew the contours, swept the floor, and made the whiteprints, too.
That may be when I decided to build weapons, not targets.
I suppose now you just query a GIS database to get contours, right?
Okay, that's got to be quicker than doing all the fieldwork, etc. But it's also not a 'new' drawing, in the sense that somebody already encoded what you need, and you're just using computers to translate data from one form to another.
-Mike-

Yeah, I was sort of exaggerating a little to make the point.

Tell me Michael...where do you get $500 per survey??? Please...give me YOUR title company list. :) In this area, the competition is so much that if we get even half that we're doing great. I guess Michael (Mr. LS) I need to move my business to your area. Didn't know Title companies paid that good elsewhere! AND Michael...I wasn't aware that it cost extra for you to "fire up" AutoCAD and unzip a file. If it's costing you $100 as you say...then dang...you sure take quite a long time to do what it takes most of my drafters 30 to 45minutes to do. You should consider another line of work. :)