John:
You are getting confused here.
The consulting company is your employer - not the company that you are being "rented" out to.
When the company you are being "rented" out to terminates their "lease" on you - you return to your employer (the consulting company).
The consulting company then places you either on the bench or in a new assignment. If you are on the bench, the consulting company pays your wages - hence you cut into their profits.
Now, in this game you have to keep a bench. Customer requirements change daily and as a consulting corporation you need to respond quickly - one of your selling points to your customers.
With me, my company was going to "rent" me to either Qwest or AT&T Broadband as a Java programmer. Well, neither position came about. So they tried to find me other work. For whatever reason, they felt their cost/benefit ratio was getting to high, so they cut me loose. Hence, the term "flesh peddlers."
Will I get called back? Who knows? Who cares? I don't have time to pout about and feel sorry for myself. And I went into this arrangement realizing that I could get my butt canned at any old time. Hence, I am working/been working on transferrable job skills (on the technical side).
The same will apply to the new gig. Anyone that tells you that they offer job security is full of it. I knew this going in - ever since I was in the trucking industry. So it doesn't really bother me that much. Plus I am single - no family - so it's more of an inconvenience than anything else.
This is why I keep preaching people skills on this board so much. You gotta be able to get along with / succeed with anyone / everyone. Because who knows where you will be tomorrow? And I love meeting / shooting the crap with people and thus I think am pretty good at the interview process. And thus, offer a ton of (what I hope is good advice on this board - but sometimes a total rant)
Hope this straightens out the confusion. My advice, get all the training you can get. And be flexible. It's a crazy world out there.
Johnny
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