Because Braintrust is owned by its users and works for its users, we are especially interested in offering the types of benefits that support you in both your personal and work life.
That’s why we offer medical and retirement benefits, career mentorship, network transparency with live market rates, and, of course, access to meaningful work with top Fortune 1000s, startups, and Web3 companies.
In this macro guide, we’ll show you how to access these benefits and to best use them to advance your career.
Table of Contents
- Why Does Braintrust Offer Benefits?
- Career Transparency With the Network Dashboard
- How do I view live market rates?
- Ownership Over Your Network
- Medical Benefits and Retirement Benefits
- What medical benefits does Braintrust offer?
- What retirement benefits does Braintrust offer?
- How do I get started?
- Community With the Braintrust Professional Network
Why Does Braintrust Offer Benefits?
We believe that knowledge workers should be able to experience the freedom of freelance without giving up the security of more traditional full-time work arrangements.
That means making sure you have opportunities to work with amazing clients while still having the stability of benefits like medical insurance and retirement plans, as well as opportunities for community, transparency, and networking within your industry.
Career Transparency With the Network Dashboard
Do you ever wonder whether you are charging the right rate for what your services are truly worth?
At Braintrust, you don’t have to wonder. We publish live market rates on the public network dashboard — info.usebraintrust.com — which updates every 4 hours and provides full transparency into what clients are paying for specific professions and skill sets.
That means you don’t ever have to worry about selling yourself short again.
You can also find other useful information on the network dashboard. For instance, you can get updates on average project sizes and project duration, as well as how many total jobs and Talent there are on the network.
The dashboard is a key part of Braintrust’s work to make sure users have insight into what is happening on the network, which is critical, considering they have a vote on how it operates.
How do I view live market rates?
Simply go to the network dashboard, and scroll down to the section marked “Average Market Rates” at the bottom.
You can see rates by profession — Engineering, Design, Product, and Other — as well as by geographic region (North America, World).
Within each profession, rates are sorted by skill sets, and can also be sorted alphabetically or from highest to lowest (and vice versa).
Ownership Over Your Network.
As a member of Braintrust, you have a say over key network decisions, with each $BTRST token equaling one vote in governance.
You can currently earn $BTRST by:
- Inviting other Talent to apply for jobs on Braintrust
- Referring Clients to Braintrust
Additional token reward opportunities are constantly being added, so stay tuned!
Medical Benefits and Retirement Benefits
Medical Benefits
When you think about benefits, the first thing that comes to mind is likely medical insurance — and we’ve got you covered. Braintrust partners with Opolis to offer fantastic benefits, with members typically saving between 20-50% on their top-rated medical, dental, and vision insurance options.
Opolis is a member-owned digital employment cooperative. Through it, you can also sign up for other benefits, including retirement savings options, and disability insurance. (To learn more about the full suite of Opolis Benefits, click here).
The best part? Opolis plans work across state lines, meaning Americans using Opolis can access them wherever they go within the United States, unlike with typical state exchange plans.
“I saved over $500 per month compared to health insurance on the government exchange, and the fact that it’s accepted across state lines is huge.”
— Alexa Green, a Full Stack Engineer on Braintrust.
Retirement Benefits
Through Opolis, you can also get access to retirement options, including your choice of various IRAs, Group & Solo 401(k)s.
Other financial benefits include automatic tax withholding, the ability to receive semi-monthly paychecks (in USD or digital currencies), an annual W2, disability insurance, and other documents to help with regulatory compliance.
How do I get started?
In order to get access to your Braintrust benefits, you’ll want to start by heading over to the Opolis home page, and clicking on the big orange button:
You’ll then be asked to fill out some basic information, including your name, contact information (email/phone), and the industry you work in.
Who qualifies for Opolis benefits?
As of now, Opolis offers benefits to those who are qualified to work in Canada (Ontario, British Columbia) or the United States (all states except Michigan and Arizona). Depending on your state/province, you must meet certain minimum salary requirements to qualify.
Lastly, you will need to have an LLC designated as an ‘S’ Corp or a ‘C’ Corp. If you already have one, you're all set. If not, Opolis will guide you through the process.
Community With the Braintrust Professional Network
Just because you work for yourself doesn’t mean you have to work by yourself.
In 2023, we launched the Braintrust Professional Network as a direct response to core team and community members who voiced the desire for a network that would continually serve their career needs — not just when they were looking for a new job, but also when they were looking for new skills, training, and guidance.
The Braintrust Professional Network brings our community of more than 50,000 Talent together by creating opportunities for them to share advice, tips and information over the Professional Network, and through discussions on the Braintrust network app itself.
We’ll be unrolling a full suite of features around the Braintrust Professional Network throughout 2023, so stay tuned.