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Salary surveys make a good starting point, but you certainly shouldn't stop
there. I have found that rates vary widely, even within a region, or across
the street at the "other" company. For example, in one nearby city two I was
asked to interview (through agencies) at two companies. One produced
software, the other made airplanes. The plane company pays as much as
$15/hour more than the software company.
If you're going through an agency, pay close attention to the benefits
package they offer. Things like combined time off (holidays, personal time),
medical coverage, etc., can be worth more than $10,000/yr, and might justify
a $4-6/hr difference in the offered rate, depending on the market rate.
