That happens sometimes. But other times, HR has a lot of control over FTE salaries, and little over contractors, and they compare their salary structure to othe

That happens sometimes. But other times, HR has a lot of control over FTE salaries, and little over contractors, and they compare their salary structure to other energy companies, and therefore every FTE is drastically underpaid, and gets little to no stock compensation. So in practice, a senior contractor will earn far more. This means they have a lot of trouble converting FTEs. I've worked in places where the contractors make about double, and those where it's the FTEs that make double. You really want to get a good idea of how the organization looks before you join there, because really, both kinds exist, and you don't want to be in the wrong group.