>>Do you know the name of the place you were >>going to work for (not the placement firm)? >Of course not! They never tell you until you accept the contract :-) I get the feeling they were telling you anything "just in case" or as a "final fallback". Your $65/hour and their $10-$230/hour is unheard of in Columbus for VFP. You can get C++, RPG, Oracle, SQL Server, etc. programmers through contracting firms in Columbus for that amount. I've hired a number of them. The last AS400 (RPG and CL) programmer I hired was at $85/hour and he was top notch. Although Columbus is in short supply of programmers (just like other parts of the country), for some reason most Columbus businesses just won't pay very hire rates ... they would rather do without the program. Actually, any contract firm I work with, I always ask for the name of their client. I've worked and spoke with quite a few places and I don't want duplication of effort (it looks bad). I've never had a contracting firm not tell me the name of their client. If the contracting firm is legit in looking for programmers, they should be protected by their client if I try to go around the them.