That would put your $90/hr contractor at $162K full time salary; and for base, sure. Base-wise, I'd expect a $90/hr contractor to come out closer to $150K if they converted to full time. But bonus and stock often make up another 30% or more in silicon valley, and you don't get that as a contractor.
This was actually the weird part for me, because I did some contracting around here in the aughts, and the pay was slightly better than fte work, but at that point, few of the FTEs I knew had significant bonus or stock grants. (You'd get options, just not RSUs) - as far as I can tell, this change to compensating developers with RSUs and bonuses is something that happened this decade; FTE comp went up dramatically due to bonus/stock, and contractor income remained competitive with base.
Of course, it's way different at smaller companies, or if you have the connections to avoid the body shops at larger companies, but smaller companies usually pay their full timers dramatically less anyhow, and if you have the kinds of connections required to go direct with the big players, being an individual contributor is probably not the highest value use of your time.
And I imagine things are different outside of silicon valley. Things are... very different and weird here.
Edit: oh also, 'similarly skilled' - I'm a contractor now, and yes, I get paid less than the FTEs I work alongside, I mean, I get slightly more than their base, but no bonus or stock. But... I'm also not similarly skilled. The FTEs doing my job are obviously better, at least by the standards by which we are evaluated. I'd give myself a 1 in 10 chance of passing a technical interview for a FTE job at the company where I contract now, and that is, uh, displaying confidence. My point wasn't that things are unfair; I don't think I'm being treated unfairly, aside from a few minor points, but that after the body shop takes a cut, there's just not enough left to pay enough to get people as good as what you get when you hire for the ridiculously well-compensated FTE positions at the larger and more prestigious companies in silicon valley. And the company matters; I interview often and just a few months back turned down a FTE position at a lesser company, for reasons having to do with pay, prestige, and trust.
Where I live, a good software developer can make between 120K and 145K as an FTE and easily bill from 70 - 80/hr as a W2 contractor. Bonuses and stock options aren't too much of thing either way. Maybe about 10-15% of compensation.
This was actually the weird part for me, because I did some contracting around here in the aughts, and the pay was slightly better than fte work, but at that point, few of the FTEs I knew had significant bonus or stock grants. (You'd get options, just not RSUs) - as far as I can tell, this change to compensating developers with RSUs and bonuses is something that happened this decade; FTE comp went up dramatically due to bonus/stock, and contractor income remained competitive with base.
Of course, it's way different at smaller companies, or if you have the connections to avoid the body shops at larger companies, but smaller companies usually pay their full timers dramatically less anyhow, and if you have the kinds of connections required to go direct with the big players, being an individual contributor is probably not the highest value use of your time.
And I imagine things are different outside of silicon valley. Things are... very different and weird here.
Edit: oh also, 'similarly skilled' - I'm a contractor now, and yes, I get paid less than the FTEs I work alongside, I mean, I get slightly more than their base, but no bonus or stock. But... I'm also not similarly skilled. The FTEs doing my job are obviously better, at least by the standards by which we are evaluated. I'd give myself a 1 in 10 chance of passing a technical interview for a FTE job at the company where I contract now, and that is, uh, displaying confidence. My point wasn't that things are unfair; I don't think I'm being treated unfairly, aside from a few minor points, but that after the body shop takes a cut, there's just not enough left to pay enough to get people as good as what you get when you hire for the ridiculously well-compensated FTE positions at the larger and more prestigious companies in silicon valley. And the company matters; I interview often and just a few months back turned down a FTE position at a lesser company, for reasons having to do with pay, prestige, and trust.