• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

security clearance

pontifex

Lifer
how hard is it to get security clearance for a job? i see a few jobs that require a certain level of secuirty clearance and i've heard of it before but never really looked into it.

what do you have to do?
 
Your have to retire from the military with a clearance, then take the job requiring the clearance. Which is what I did. I have heard (can't verify) that a Top Secret clearance cost close 100K to complete. Most people cannot afford to do the for a job that pays from 60-100K a year.
 
that doesn't sound right. i'm pretty sure a guy i used to know applied for security clearance and got it. he was never in the military.
 
Originally posted by: farmercal
Your have to retire from the military with a clearance, then take the job requiring the clearance. Which is what I did. I have heard (can't verify) that a Top Secret clearance cost close 100K to complete. Most people cannot afford to do the for a job that pays from 60-100K a year.

People don't pay for the clearance. You can't get one unless you have the need for one and when you leave a job for which you have a clearance you lose it after 1 year of inactivity. Most companies would prefer to hire people already cleared but will keep a certain number of people "on the bench" while waiting for them to receive their interim clearance.
 
Originally posted by: pontifex
that doesn't sound right. i'm pretty sure a guy i used to know applied for security clearance and got it. he was never in the military.

That is correct. Military service is not required to get a clearance.
 
Apply for the job, if you get it D.I.S (Defence investigative service) will run a security check to what ever level required.
 
If you need a clearance the defense company you work for will pay for it. The employee is not expected to acquire it beforehand, unless you had one from a previous job.

-MrManly
 
That is correct. Military service is not required to get a clearance.
Okay, I mispoke. What I meant to say, is that what most people do is what I described. There are companies that will pay for you to get one if they need your services. But around here (NW Florida), they require that you HAVE one to take the job. Because they DO NOT want to pay for the investigation and they have plenty of people already cleared to take the job.
 
Originally posted by: farmercal
That is correct. Military service is not required to get a clearance.
Okay, I mispoke. What I meant to say, is that what most people do is what I described. There are companies that will pay for you to get one if they need your services. But around here (NW Florida), they require that you HAVE one to take the job. Because they DO NOT want to pay for the investigation and they have plenty of people already cleared to take the job.

That is just misinformation.

I work as a civil servant and the other 5000 employees here weren't in the military and didn't have clearances when they started their job here.

I got my job, applied for clearance and got it when the investigation was done.

As for getting one. If you don't have a really dark past then it won't be a problem. Just be honest and answer the questions they need to know honestly.
 
If you need clearance then the company usually will pay for it. I have clearance, and from what I head it cost between 50-100K to get it (and it took over a year.) This is why companies will prefer people who already have their clearance, whether they were in the military or got it at a previous job. If you get it, put it on your resume.
 
The worst part about getting a security clearance is compiling all the information that they require on the application. They want to scrutinize every minute detail of your life for the past 10 or so years.

Also, getting a clearance can sometimes take some time. One of my clearances took nearly a year to get from the date I turned in the application.
 
That is just misinformation.
misinformation my a$$. Dude I work in this area and know people who have applied for a job that they qualified for in every way. They did not get the job because in the advertisement for the job is was stated that you "must have a Secret clearance" to be hired. Just because it worked in your situation doesn't mean it will work for everyone else. It depends on the company and what they are willing to pay for. If the company indicated that they would pay for the investigation then apply and wait for it to come through, if they said you NEED a clearance to get the job, find a way to get the clearance, then apply. A lot of times they need someone to be able to work NOW, not six months from now when they finally get their clearance. Look at it from the employers point of veiw.
 
Originally posted by: farmercal
That is just misinformation.
misinformation my a$$. Dude I work in this area and know people who have applied for a job that they qualified for in every way. They did not get the job because in the advertisement for the job is was stated that you "must have a Secret clearance" to be hired. Just because it worked in your situation doesn't mean it will work for everyone else. It depends on the company and what they are willing to pay for. If the company indicated that they would pay for the investigation then apply and wait for it to come through, if they said you NEED a clearance to get the job, find a way to get the clearance, then apply. A lot of times they need someone to be able to work NOW, not six months from now when they finally get their clearance. Look at it from the employers point of veiw.

And same back at you....

IF, the job listing states, "Applicant must currently possess a xxxxx security clearance", then yeah you have to have that to apply for the job.

No where did the original poster state that was the case. It said the job required a security clearance. That is the case with almost every gov't job in the DoD sector that deals with technology.

Almost everyone who applies and doesn't have a criminal background also gets an INTERIM clearance. So yeah the person can almost start working immediately after getting the job and filling out the paperwork. Not 6 months or a year down the road.......
 
some companies dont have the bankroll to put people through the process, and they will only hire people that have an active one to staff current projects

other companies will hire you for skills, then put you into the process and staff you when its done

if the position says - XXX clearance required, its the former
if it says somethign like, applicant must undergo background check / investigation / must be us citizen to apply, its like the latter
 
Not everyone in the military gets a clearance. Also, I'm fairly sure that it doesn't go away after just 1 year of inactivity. I forget how long, but am almost certain that its more then 1.
 
i was working as a contractor at a defense company, and the contracting agency was going to get me some level of security clearance... so basically if you need it, your copmany will most likely apply for you
 
Not everyone in the military gets a clearance. Also, I'm fairly sure that it doesn't go away after just 1 year of inactivity. I forget how long, but am almost certain that its more then 1.
Everyone I know in the military had a Secret clearance and if the job required it, they they went higher. When you retire with a clearance you keep it for 2 years unless you are picked up by a company that will keep it active to have you work for them (my case). I just retired and have the paperwork stating this fact.
 
If you already have a clearance, many, many companies would love to hire you. The last company I worked for gave you an automatic $5,000 signing bonus if you had at least S level clearance, and gave the same to your recruiter.

You can not get a clearance without a sponsor, so you can't get it before applying for a job that needs it. That said, some companies require you have it from a previous job. It also depends on the area that you live/work if it's going to help you that much. If you're around Washington DC, people with clearance are a dime a dozen.

Most jobs that require a clearance (And will help you get it) will fire you if you fail to qualify for one. Believe it or not, typicaly "shady" activities are less of a concern then your credit and monitary situation. People are a lot easier to bribe then to blackmail. 🙂 Of course, too much of either one is a problem.

AnthraX101
 
If you get clearance and you leave your company, do you still have the clearance? Says who? Who keeps track of it? Does it last forever or do you have to take a refresher test every few years? Can you get some sort of certificate to show new employers?
 
If you get clearance and you leave your company, do you still have the clearance? Says who? Who keeps track of it? Does it last forever or do you have to take a refresher test every few years? Can you get some sort of certificate to show new employers?
If you have clearance and leave your company, I don't think you loose it. My clearance was just completed in Sep/05. After 5 years they will do an update and I will have to submit all my information again (lot's of personal information). Someone does keep track of it but I am not sure whom.
 
Originally posted by: sygyzy
If you get clearance and you leave your company, do you still have the clearance? Says who? Who keeps track of it? Does it last forever or do you have to take a refresher test every few years? Can you get some sort of certificate to show new employers?

If you leave, you keep your clearance.

My clearances are from the DOE and the NRC - they track them.

They don't last forever. I think I have to be reinvestigated every 5 years.

I don't know for sure how I could prove that I have a clearance if I were going to a new employer. I would assume that I could have them contact the DOE/NRC???
 
Originally posted by: sygyzy
If you get clearance and you leave your company, do you still have the clearance? Says who? Who keeps track of it? Does it last forever or do you have to take a refresher test every few years? Can you get some sort of certificate to show new employers?

there is a periodic reinvestigation. I believe its every 5 years for top secret clearance, and every 10 for secret level.
 
Back
Top