I'm going to be finishing my master's in mechanical engineering with a focus in robotics this spring and I will be looking for a job. A lot of engineering companies get government contracts which often means that security clearances. I'm getting married next July and it just seems that it could be stressful to be unable to talk about a significant part of one's life (work) with one's spouse. I'd like to hear from any of you out there who are married and have a security clearance. Is it ever difficult not discussing work related stuff with your spouse?
Question for those with DoD security clearances
- Thread starter WhiteKnight
- Start date
What? It's not stressful at all...
It depends on your level also. Just because you might have Secret clearance doesn't mean 100% of your work is classified. Might spend 7 hrs doing bs stuff and then 1 hr of classified work. or whatever.
It depends on your level also. Just because you might have Secret clearance doesn't mean 100% of your work is classified. Might spend 7 hrs doing bs stuff and then 1 hr of classified work. or whatever.
I held a US Navy Secret clearance for about 8 years..
I never told my wife about "how" things i worked on work.. thats none of her business bro..
you can use general terms about what you did today without breaking that code..
but if you plan on letting her know exactly how things work then you got a serious problem..and the CIA might be visiting you
I never told my wife about "how" things i worked on work.. thats none of her business bro..
you can use general terms about what you did today without breaking that code..
but if you plan on letting her know exactly how things work then you got a serious problem..and the CIA might be visiting you
It all depends on your level (secret, top secret, etc.) Unless you are working on really sensitive stuff, I think you'll be fine.
No real problem...depends on what you're working on...Feel free to talk, just don't mention specifics.
why are u concerned?
if your wife asks u a question and you don't want to answer, just say it's top secret!
u can also go out with your friends, and when your wife asks u where u are, u can say it is top secret!!
think of the possibilities man!!
if your wife asks u a question and you don't want to answer, just say it's top secret!
u can also go out with your friends, and when your wife asks u where u are, u can say it is top secret!!
think of the possibilities man!!
Never been married myself, but I've never found it to be a problem. There's plenty of other stuff to talk about and, really, the odds are that the details that are classified aren't really going to be that huge a part of your life. When you're working on non-classified stuff, how often you do talk about the nuts-and-bolts details, anyway? Either way, you're more likely to talk about "it was a good day/stressful day at work; such-and-such client was revising the specs for no good reason, but...."
Hehe, hadn't thought of it that way.
Being able to talk in general terms about what I do would be ok. She's not an engineer so details probably wouldn't interest her anyway. The work would probably be secret, though I have seen some places that require top secret.
I'm not married but I've had a Security Clearance for a long time and unless I was working in a covert environment discussing my job wasn't really a problem. You can say your working on a project and it's a pain in the ass but you can't say what that project is or what you are doing. How much detail do you need to tell her before you would feel comfortable. Let?s say you're try to fit a part on to a Ultra Top Secret Gigazilla Watt tetra beam laser and it doesn't fit. So you go home and your wife say's "Hey Sweetie what the matter" do you say (a) "Oh nothing Sugertoes I'm just having problems getting a part to fit at work and I'm feeling anxious? or (b) ?Oh nothing Sugertoes I'm just having problems getting a part to fit on our Ultra Top Secret Gigazilla Watt Tetra beam laser project and I'm feeling anxious? It?s kind of easy to figure out which choice to make.
Originally posted by: Kilgor
I'm not married but I've had a Security Clearance for a long time and unless I was working in a covert environment discussing my job wasn't really a problem. You can say your working on a project and it's a pain in the ass but you can't say what that project is or what you are doing. How much detail do you need to tell her before you would feel comfortable. Let?s say you're try to fit a part on to a Ultra Top Secret Gigazilla Watt tetra beam laser and it doesn't fit. So you go home and your wife say's "Hey Sweetie what the matter" do you say (a) "Oh nothing Sugertoes I'm just having problems getting a part to fit at work and I'm feeling anxious? or (b) ?Oh nothing Sugertoes I'm just having problems getting a part to fit on our Ultra Top Secret Gigazilla Watt Tetra beam laser project and I'm feeling anxious? It?s kind of easy to figure out which choice to make.
Well when you put it that way...I would be more worried about finding a company that will sit on you while you wait for the clearance. Eventhough we have a ton of openings that require clearances we will not sit on somebody for the time it takes to get a new one. If it is just Secret work, there should be little, if any thing that you cannot not discuss and you can always just generalize what happened. If you have things in your past you want to hide, look elsewhere.
how much do they take into consideration things you may have done as minor?
i.e. if you got arrested as a minor will that affect your abilityt to get clearance and what not.
i.e. if you got arrested as a minor will that affect your abilityt to get clearance and what not.
So how are you supposed to ever get a job that requires a security clearance short of paying for it yourself ahead of time or being ex-military?
Prayer.
Also you can't pay for it yourself. Only a govt contractor can get you one. That's the hard part, getting a job which is willing to pay for you. It costs several thousand dollars.
meh ... she's not likely to be interested in the details down to that level anyway. Alot of times the big picture is unclass, it's just the details that are classified. Like maybe your working on a radar for the F22 ... that fact likely isn't classified, but specific details regarding frequencies, waveforms, etc. may be.
Even if the "big picture" is classified, it's not that big a deal. I used to work in an office that officially didn't exist. Couldn't talk about what we did except in very broad generalities. It never caused any problems ... you get used to talking in vague generalities and people will think your job is alot more interesting then it really is. Sometimes travel gets a bit dicey, but that's rare.
Even if the "big picture" is classified, it's not that big a deal. I used to work in an office that officially didn't exist. Couldn't talk about what we did except in very broad generalities. It never caused any problems ... you get used to talking in vague generalities and people will think your job is alot more interesting then it really is. Sometimes travel gets a bit dicey, but that's rare.
So the trick is just getting in the door. Once you have a clearance, getting other jobs that require one is much easier. Right?
Exactly. Once you have one, it's very valuable. Many qualified applicants for govt jobs are turned down simply because it takes too long and expensive to get a security clearance.
Here's a clip from a good article....
Security clearances are required for anyone whose job allows access to secret U.S. defense information.
As of March 31, the Defense Department had a backlog of 188,000 security-clearance cases for industry personnel, partly because of a large number of new clearance requests, according to a May report by the Government Accountability Office.
The backlog creates a Catch-22 for employers and applicants: People can't get a clearance unless they have a job that requires one, but they often can't get a job that requires a clearance unless they already have been granted clearance.
With the waiting period to obtain a top-secret clearance now over two years, according to Wildrick, Boeing can't afford to hire people and then have them do nonclassified work until their clearances come through, as it did in the past when the process routinely took six months.
In some cases, Boeing is making job offers to people, then having them stay with their old employers until their security clearances are approved, Wildrick said.
Competition among companies to hire qualified engineers puts those who already have clearances in an enviable position, able to pick and choose among employers, jobs and locations, Wildrick said.
They are also commanding higher pay.
Coop with a defense contractor. If they have some experience with you, they may be more likely to wait out the clearence process for you.
Or join the military.
Well, I did do ROTC for two years and all the paperwork was done. Unfortunately, I decided it wasn't the life for me and I bailed before it went through.
FYI, its gonna be a while to get your secret after they put you in. There's a huge backlog right now...
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