Hi Lucy, thanks for that clarification.I understand not being able to "take advantage" by charging $100 per hour for each field tech but this still makes me uncomfortable to know that pay is set by the feds. But Scott as I reread your answer the part " And such firms line up to get access to those govt contracts, because they end up being quite lucrative (at least for those in management)." I believe this is the complaint....that projects can be lucrative for those in management but for the others actually in the field not so great. Although I agree that twice the min. wage sounds good, is less than $20 per hour realy a livable wage for people who are trained and degreed?  I relize that there is no work for anyone if techs demand more from the company than the company makes and I believe this confirms earlier suggestions on how we need to increase others views on the value of our work (by "our" I mean all of us: techs, supervisors, PIs, company owners).
  Stephanie Cole,  MA, RPA