anyone have a TS/SCI + polygraph clearance?

[sjwaste]

if so, how much has it increased your salary and opportunities?

i live around the dc metro area and am searching for jobs a bit, and have 2 opportunities where they will sponsor it. i don't have the job or anything yet but i'm in the beginning process with the phone interviews and stuff.

i know it is extremely valuable to have in this area and that having one can increase your salary greatly.

i'm just curious if anyone actually has one, and if so, how much it has impacted their career, both salary wise and opportunity wise.

If you are clearable, get it. It might not always lead to more money (it often does) but it will lead to more interesting work. SCI with poly puts you in the drivers seat in terms of career direction, even in the DC area. A lot of people have a clearance, but relatively few are that far up the ladder.

 

[JD50]

fwiw this is for a JAVA senior level development position.

How many years of experience are you talking about? SWE4 you could be talking around $120ish per hour with the right company (figure an average 2000 hours worked in a year), maybe more. Just an educated guess though, I'm an SA right now and will be switching to SWE in a few years once I finish my degree. The key is to get your clearance first then go work for a really small company with no overhead. You need your TS/SCI w/ poly first though. PM me if you want. Having that poly puts you in a completely different world than the folks without it.

 

[JD50]

If you are clearable, get it. It might not always lead to more money (it often does) but it will lead to more interesting work. SCI with poly puts you in the drivers seat in terms of career direction, even in the DC area. A lot of people have a clearance, but relatively few are that far up the ladder.

Yep.

 

[JD50]

I dont believe a SCI/Poly is transferable. If you were required by the customer for a Poly for one program and you went to another company and their customer required a Poly you would need another one. Also there are different poly's. Lifestyle etc..

Having the ability to tell the future employer that you have previously required SCI W/ poly and successfully passed is worth something but not more $$

No offense, but that's completely incorrect.

 

[JD50]

nvm, pm for more details if you want. You're not gonna get a lot of feedback in a public forum like this.

 

[jteef]

I have come to despise them. we need to hire smart, technically proficient people. We say we can't afford to wait 2 years to see if they'll clear the process, so we hire shitty military retirees who, in turn, refer their terrible buddies and it turns in to a giant circlejerk of an organization where 90% of our software development experience is building geocities pages circa 1997 complete with blinking text and animated gifs.

 

[brianmanahan]

^ yeah, that sounds like govt work

 

[lupi]

I have come to despise them. we need to hire smart, technically proficient people. We say we can't afford to wait 2 years to see if they'll clear the process, so we hire shitty military retirees who, in turn, refer their terrible buddies and it turns in to a giant circlejerk of an organization where 90% of our software development experience is building geocities pages circa 1997 complete with blinking text and animated gifs.

lulz

 

[darkewaffle]

This thread is interesting because I never even heard of these programs. Neato!

 

[purbeast0]

nvm, pm for more details if you want. You're not gonna get a lot of feedback in a public forum like this.

hah ... it's funny you say that, because i've had PM's from about 4 different people for the reason of them not making things public on here. totally understandable.

as far as the experience goes, i have about 7.5 years of OO programming experience, but only 2.5 of that is in Java, which is my past 2.5 years in my career. started out in C++ first 5 years then transitioned to Java. trying to transition to java web app development now because i currently do a desktop app.

i have an interview next week in regards to the position i started this thread about. 5 minutes after my phone screen ended i had an email telling me they want to bring me in for a face to face. and this was after the guy on the phone told me the turn around time for hearing feedback is typically 2 days heh, so it sounds like a good start.

 

[murphye]

nvm, pm for more details if you want. You're not gonna get a lot of feedback in a public forum like this.

I am currently in the process of getting my FSP clearance, but I am very much in the dark on what I should expect for a salary.

Could you please PM me? The forum is not letting me PM you because I do not have 12 posts yet on this forum. I am hoping I can send you my questions if you PM me first. Thank you!

 

[EagleKeeper]

I am currently in the process of getting my FSP clearance, but I am very much in the dark on what I should expect for a salary.

Could you please PM me? The forum is not letting me PM you because I do not have 12 posts yet on this forum. I am hoping I can send you my questions if you PM me first. Thank you!

Clearance is not going to increase your pay.

Clearance is going to allow you to get postilions that require a clearance and pay decently w/ respect to work in/for the government.

I have not had a active clearance since 1990; yet I make as much or more than most people with my skills that have a clearance. those are just have more options available to them

 

[Andrew111]

TS/SCI is pretty valuable although the opportunities it opens are for jobs with companies where the work can be pretty miserable.

Exactly...the employers and/or the job you get hired for will most likely suck ass and not worth the extra money. I had a TS/SCI and hated the shitty jobs that it usually entailed...dealing with government BS / retarded work procedures. Plus you'll be working in a big metro area anyway most likely so cost of living is already through the roof so the salary increase goes towards that.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Carlos and Wilmsberg Inc. Pays well (350K) for freight operators flying in and out of Brazil. TS/SCI required.