I'm a contractor for a large research facility. The arrangement is almost exactly as you describe, but I am a W2 employee. They hire researchers with phds and s

I'm a contractor for a large research facility. The arrangement is almost exactly as you describe, but I am a W2 employee. They hire researchers with phds and such, while offloading all software work to contractors. I took the job a year ago with the hope its name recognition would be helpful in the future but I had no idea there was such a stigma around contracting. I'm starting to look around again, so I guess I'll see how it effects me.