Hello all,

I wanted to get feedback on a question I had from a couple of interviews I have done so far. I was laid off last year in May, since I was studying for the ARE, I had 2 left, I decided to use Aerotek to look for a job. I was able to concentrate on my studies and not really stress out. I ended up getting a 1 month contract with a very prestigious well known firm, here in New York. The contract was for a month but ended up lasting for a year. The firm never made me an offer and never extended the contract to a "for hire" contract. They ended up hiring another young architect with the same amount of years experience that I had who was also through Aerotek but in a "6 month to hire" contract.  I was not greatly offended because I only wanted the name on my resume and I ended up failing structures and needed the time to study again.

This firm ended up laying me off in May of this year, I decided to forgo using Aerotek this time because I wanted to see what it was like on my own. And also I was tired of my life being on hold. I had a number of interviews, over the past 3 months I have had 10+ interviews in total spread out over 3 different states. Whenever I mention that I got the prestigious firm through Aerotek there is a definite air of disappointment or derision from the people interviewing me. So noticeable that I have decided not to gloss over it.

I have since started working at another firm again with a contract firm. During this interview for this current job, they were impressed with my resume and the hiring manager said that he would hire me if he could. And a week and a half into actually working the PA pulled me aside and asked if I would like to be a full time employee, which I replied yes to because I need a job. He mentioned that they are looking at their budget to see if it is feasible to hire me. They just hired a slew of new people. I am still actively looking and applying for jobs. I NEED to get out of this bottomless pit that it feels like my life has fallen into.

My question is it looked down upon to have worked for Aerotek and other contract firms? I know from first hand experience that the contract employees are not treated as well as a full time employees, and it is mostly like a leased slave service and they expect you to work as much as possible and as fast as possible. This has been my experience so far in the past year.  Would it better not to use Aerotek in the future and just see if I could go on my own?  Has anybody made the transition to going from contract to permanent? I know there is a fee to the firm if they do hire you full time, I think it is $5000 for Aerotek which may make the firm hesitant to invest that  money in you. 

Also, what is the general perception of contract employees within the firm in comparison to other full time actual hired employees? Do you think of them as slave? Do you feel sorry for them that they are willing to settle for less (no insurance, benefits, long hours)? These last questions are for my own view because I have felt looked down upon and I was just curious if it was my imagination.