There's a difference, and since you're a little new to the game you need to know what that is. Staff augmentation firms, or "staff augs", "body shops", or just plain "IT temp agencies" specialize in putting an ass in a seat until your project is done. Doesn't matter if your project is a technology refresh that's only going to last a week or implementation of a new ERP system that's going to take the rest of the year. Find a person who's got a pulse and said they put together their own PC back in 1998, and get them a seat. True consulting firms or "managed services" firms deal with companies that want to outsource branches of IT to an outside source. For instance, if they want some guy to sit down and do Tier 2 desktop support all day every day, while routing their helpdesk line to someone else who lives at the outsource firm that does Tier 1 phone support all day every day. Those are the jobs I'm talking about. Chances are once you are assigned to a certain client, to that client you stay as you become more and more familiar with their environment and they get used to having you around. Fast forward a few months/year, and chances are you get hired on there full time.