Bill Golden
CEO, IntelligenceCareers.com
The challenge of finding the front door for careers within the federal government or the defense industry is not just for young, fresh faces just out of college or high school. There are a number of hurdles to be crossed to successfully begin, or re-begin, a career associated with activities that are federally funded in the world of defense and government.
Finding Success
Be patient. You need a security clearance to work for the U.S. government.
If you don’t have a federal security clearance issued by the CIA, DoD/DSS (Department of Defense/Defense Security Service) or the OPM (Office of Personnel Management), then absolutely nothing happens fast.
A security clearance can take as long as six months (Secret) to more than 24 months (Top Secret SSBI/SCI) – and no one starts work without some portion of a background investigation having been completed. Be patient, even if you already have a security clearance. Government organizations often take as long as 6-9 months from the date of your initial interview before they actually bring you on board and you get your first paycheck.
Aim High
Within government, aim high and settle for realism. The government is a bureaucratic and hierarchical system. With few exceptions there are few folks that start out at the top, or even in the middle. If you are an experienced career changer with a few gray hairs and exactly the skills being sought by the government then it is possible that you can start out at GS-12 or higher. Career changers without direct prior government experience will start lower.
Intelligence Careers
Join the military to jump-start your career in intelligence.
The military has constant need for large numbers of smart folks that want to go into intelligence, linguistics and cryptography as well as many other important related fields in the areas of C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications and Computers plus Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance).
Would you play the lottery if you knew that you had less than a one-in-four chance of your numbers even being considered?
Playing the lottery game is what happens when you do not perform military service and try to find a career in the world of C4ISR.
In our annual survey of careerchanging cleared professionals we find that about three-quarter got their first security clearance through military service. Less than 12% of defense industry hires associated with the world of C4ISR found their way into the defense industry without prior military service – and most of thoese were engineers and technologists.
Another Avenue
Go back to college and pick a university that has a relationship with a government agency. There are many opportunities for government internships for students enrolled in bachelor and masters programs. For a master list of known opportunities go to the “Career Seeker” section on IntelligenceCareers.com.
Start young. Encourage your teenager to start thinking early. Many government intelligence agencies actually have programs for highschoolers to begin their careers – agencies such as CIA, FBI and the NSA.
Getting a Security Clearance
You need to get a job that requires a clearance to get a clearance. If you don’t have one, then you need to be “sponsored.” Being sponsored means that an agency or a defense contractor agrees to do the paperwork to get you a security clearance. This almost always means that they have agreed to hire you first.
Caution: Take care of your personal and professional reputation and status. There are some things that can keep you from getting a U.S. government security clearance or cause you to lose one: DUI/DWI, bankruptcy, history of mental instability, history of financial instability, marriage or a close relationship with a foreign national, prior use of recreational drugs.
A Secret security clearance is the easiest and quickest to get. If you have no problems with items mentioned in the previous paragraph, then you should be able to find a position requiring a Secret clearance without too much work. A defense contractor will often consider you for a Secret position even if you do not already have the clearance.
Top Secret security clearance jobs with defense contractors are often the most difficult (almost impossible) to get. The reason for the difficulty in getting sponsored for this clearance lies with the federal National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM).
The NISPOM, essentially a federal regulation, says that you cannot be sponsored for a security clearance unless the employer agrees to hire you within six months. Why would they agree to hire you within six months if it could take more than 24 months to find out if you are actually going to be given the clearance? Survey sez … they won’t do it – it’s a bad economic risk.
Starting Points
Check out these resources to find your next career in defense and intelligence:
- DNI – Director of National Intelligence
- Military Intelligence Careers
- Kathryn Troutman’s Resume Place (federal jobs)
- CIA – Central Intelligence Agency
- DIA – Defense Intelligence Agency
- FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation
- NSA – National Security Agency
- Defense and Intelligence Contractor Jobs
Important: If you have a Top Secret security clearance, be prepared to leave your current employer if you are transferred to a project requiring only a Secret clearance. Your security clearance has a NISPOM-enforced freshness date that says that your clearance is good only for 24 months from date of its last use. If you have a Top Secret clearance and quit using it, the expiration clock starts ticking! Be prepared to change jobs or employers well before your 24 months is up.