>Does anyone have experience with Maxim Group?

Yes, I have contracted with them on and off for almost five years. I use Robert Half and PSINet (Metamor) also... I like Maxim overall, but they are not looking out ultimately for you best interest. They want you and the client happy, but mostly the client. It's much harder for them to find the clients than it is to find the contractors. They have always been upfront with me in-as-much as it mattered. That doesn't mean there's no deception - there is always a bit of dancing and talking around things between all three involved, but knowing that going in makes it easier. I've proven myself with them over the years and that has been benenficial to me as it can be more of a relationship if you deal with the same account managers (client contact) and recruiters (your contact normally). There is a lot of turnover for recruiters (less for account managers) so remember that although the person acts like they know everything and seems very confident, they may have just started the day before. Ask a lot of questions and make sure that the details of what you agree on is outlined in the contract. Things like billing for travel time, per diem and benefits need to be discussed upfront. You will get more money per hour giving up benefits, but it depends on you personal situation as to what's best. I can give you more details on them if you want...

>What is a fair rate for working with a recruiter like Maxim?

Remember they are in the business of getting as much from the client as possible while giving you as little as possible to keep you happy; they call it the margin. The rates you quoted are slightly high for what Maxim likes to pay for Foxpro. For networking and DBA stuff they will pay more. Experience counts alot, but not quite as much as the languages you know.

Regards, Renoir