Applying as a contractor- good idea?

[femtoscott]

Hi all, I'm a new graduate looking to start a career, and I believe operations is where I want to be.  I have been watching job postings for a while and have not seen any openings in the area.  At this point I'm considering applying to a contract company, but I'm concerned that if I'm locked into a 6 month or year contract I may not be able to apply for the jobs I want when they become available.  I would like to end up working in Minnesota, but if I had to work somewhere else for a year or so first I'm not opposed to that.

My other question is whether there is another area I should be looking into- such as maintenance or IC- that might be equally appropriate for my skillset.  My degree is a BS in Automotive Engineering Technology with minors in Physics and Manufacturing Engineering Technology.  I actually nearly completed the physics degree but I just couldn't hack the wave calculations in quantum.  I have experience repairing and running a particle accelerator and have built and tuned a homebrew ECU for an engine.  I interned at Prairie Island a couple summers ago and while I was there I got some information on the NLO-RO-SRO and direct SRO options.  Direct SRO actually didn't sound as appealing to me as I am sort of a hands on person.  My aspirations are to do rewarding work with big machines, not to position myself to become high level management.

I would appreciate any advice you all have to offer.