Posted: 9/21/2006 7:45:54 AM EDT
| what kind of security clearence do they have? the clearances are very expensive so I was wondering are they usually military guys with a couple years left on their clearance, or do they have to have their company pay for their clearance? |
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A year a go I got offered a position working on the NMCI(Navy Marine Corp Intranet) doing tech support. I'm a pure civi with no connections to the military at all. The company I got hire by was the one that was going to pay for my secret clearance(the whole backgroud check thing and what not). Most companies like people to have a clearance already because it saves them mucho money. It costs a lot less if you have already been cleared. Anways that job didn't work out like I had hope. I quit after 3 days. |
It all depends on who you're working for, and where you are working. Yes, the cost is pretty wild. I can't remember the price I was quoted when I was talking to the ladies in PERSEC, but  pretty much summed it up. For me, I had just gotten off active-duty, and had my various 'tickets' still active, since I was going into the ARNG. I got a job w/ a defense contractor here in Northern VA, and have been going ever since. Most defense contractor's prefer to hire folks who already have active clearances, due to the cost of the process, plus the waiting time is STUPID right now, last I heard, due to the backlog of both new clearances, and people getting their 5-year updates. The time it takes to get your clearance also depends on what level you're going for. Just a Secret or Top Secret Collateral, is one thing. SCI takes quite a bit longer, as it's a lot more in-depth. As for _RAGNAR_'s statement about most needing only Secret, I'm sort of skeptical about that. Again, it all boils down to who you'll be working for, and where, and (of course) what you'll be doing, but I've never worked anyplace where I needed only a Secret. I'd wager that most of the better paying jobs require SCI. ETA: It also depends on the job skill that a particular company is looking for. If you have a skill that they are looking for, it may prove well worth their time to hire you, and have you counting paperclips until your clearance is approved. It all depends on how badly they want you. |
Most overseas security positions only require a secret or in some cases only a Public Trust clearance. Lots of contractors in the Defense/Security industry who the term "Security Contractor" has nothing to do with guns or physical or site security. |
If you read the title to the thread, he was asking about security contractors, not defense contractors. I've worked for three security companies doing contract security work and all that was required was a secret for one job and nothing for two others. The next job I will take requires a TS, but those are far and few between in the security contractor world. |
