Okay, here's the story with respect to why I got paid next to nothing to begin with.

Apparently, the state has these job categories for contractors. Once a year (or something like that), contracting agencies are asked to bid on those categories. This allows them to supply contractors to the state. It does not allow them to have exclusive contracts, though. Basically, it just means that the agencies are then locked into the range that they bid for each category.

Problem one is that the categories are undescriptive and incomplete. For example, my job as a Unix sysadmin was listed as ``Desktop Support''. And, to be honest, it may be the best category for it.

Problem two is that my contracting agency way underbid each of those categories. For example, most of the chuckleheads who work here work for Keane. And these guys are often real chuckleheads. Their bid range for ``Desktop Support'' is $50-$150/hr. (This is how much the company gets paid; contractors get paid a portion of that.) My company, Sapphire, bid $30-$38/hr for the same category.

In deference to me, the state moved my job to a new category, LAN/WAN support, which is at $48-$60/hr, still not in the same category as the goobers around here, but closer.

You can look at all this information at the state's Supplemental Staffing Convenience Contract Instructions, including the bid rates.

At the same time, when I was hired, there was one other person they were considering, and he was apparently being bid a lot higher, and that may be the reason I have the job at all.