Like anyone else, I am on the lookout for opportunities to broadening my “employment potential”.
As there are many jobs in the United States that require a security clearance, and that will never be outsourced for secuirty reasons–how does one go about getting a security/DoD clearance?
These links might be helpful:
http://www.opm.gov/extra/investigate/security-clearance.asp
and http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A52768-2003Feb10?language=printer
I’m not sure a “freelance” security clearance would hold much creditability.
Better to accept a low paying job that requires a security clearance than just to ask for one.
Real security clearances -DoD- require FBI agents questioning neighbors etc.
With that in mind I’m afraid you’d be last on the list for a looonnnnng time.
Been there done that.
Good links!
You would have more options once you get a clearance, in that you could also later apply for jobs that require you to already have one. But, as said above, you need to apply for a job that requires one and go through through the hoops to get one.
Thanks for the great info all!
Actually, the questioning (at least for my own clearance, as well as numerous colleagues) was handled not by the FBI but by DIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency.
It’s certainly possible the FBI handles non-DOD clearances, such as DOE or State; my experience was mostly DOD-based.
My experience was many years ago.
My neighbor was a guard at the ammunition plant.
Around the time the AEC came to the area. Quite hush hush.
I talked to the FBI agent myself.
Later , years,I heard they were checking on me.
I had a very low-level clearance working for the Justice Dept.; it took them bloody forever to do it (something like 10 months), and I am about the most ridiculously sqeaky-clean person you will ever meet, never even having had a moving violation. I think the main reason it took so long was that they didn’t believe that I had never used any recreational drugs.
After they ran the clearance and talked basically to everyone I had known since I was seven years old (I was 22 at the time, and they had to go back 15 years), they came back to interview me. It was pretty funny, "Have you ever used any illegal drugs, including marijuana?) “No.” “Are you sure? Perjury is a felony, you know.” “Yes, I’m sure. I’ve never used marijuana.” Who the hell do they think makes up the percentage of people who have never tried it? (Besides, I’m asthmatic, and even secondhand smoke sets off attacks for me.)
Well, I suppose that semester in the Soviet Union might have held them up, too.
I didn’t know one could get a freelance security clearance; I thought it had to be requested by the prospective employer. Has any Doper ever done this?
I once had a “Q-Clearance,” which is the Department of Energy’s equivalent to a Top Secret Clearance.
I had the same experience as Eva Luna’s:
Investigator: “Have you ever used illegal drugs?”
Me: “No.”
Investigator: “Ever??”
Me: “No.”
Investigator: “Not even pot? You never smoked pot once in your life??”
Me: “That’s correct.”
Investigator: “Please understand that it’s not an issue if you have used drugs in the past. But you should also understand that, if you lie to me, you will be in trouble.”
Me: “Yes, I understand.”
Investigator: “Have you ever used illegal drugs?”
Me: “No.” :rolleyes:
Well, there goes my opportunity at gaining any kind of security clearance.
Pig: Have you ever used illegal drugs? **
Bob: Why, do you need some? I got some pills, here…
Of course, I’m pretty open about my schemes toward taking over Mexico and using it as a staging point to forge a Great Global Empire, and God forbid they should ask my neighbors… or anyone who ever spoken to me at all…
As a nuclear submarine officer, I had a Top Secret/SCI clearance. (See above link.)
The full investigation took over two years before my final clearance was issued.
As an aside, I once had cause to review some classified U.K. documents. They were classified “Most Secret.” 
I had all kinds of different security clearances in a 30 year career with the Navy. I didn’t “get a security clearance” and then go looking for a job. The normal procedure is to get the job and if a security clearance is required the employer will take the necessary steps with the proper agency to secure your clearance.
There will doubtless be a preliminary questionaire during the job interview process to find out if there are any obvious security hangups. The employers don’t want to invest a lot of time in someone who will have security clearance problems.
Similar experiences as above. As a “Joe-bag-o-donuts” Air Force pilot I had the basic Secret clearance coming out of ROTC. Four years later when I got assigned to a squadron that required a TS/SBI clearance, the fun began. The clearance itself took ten months, after which I got calls from old forgotten friends. It would go like this:
“Hey, pilot141, this is Jockdude from high school! Wassup?”
“Ummm…nothing…how’s it going?”
“Better than you, man! Some FBI dude came around asking everyone about you…are you in trouble, dude?”
“No…I work for the Air Force…it was probably about a security clearance.”
“Whaaa? You didn’t get busted or nuthin?”
“No, I didn’t. Hey, how did you get this number, anyway?”
“Uhhh…Cindy from the reunion committee had it. You’re not going to jail or nuthin?”
“No.” :rolleyes:
As for the OP, I must say that a “freelance” security clearance is not really something that you can just get. The feds restrict clearances to people who actually need them. Most of the Dopers who have responded have had clearances granted through the military, but it’s possible to get one while working as a civilian - if you have the right job. The main thing is cost - I was told that the TS/SBI background check costs over $100,000. No one is going to spend that money on you unless they need you to do the job. And the government won’t let you “buy” a clearance like that just for the heck of it.
The “marketability” of clearances comes at high levels in specialized fields. If you are an aero engineer who works at Lockheed and helped design the skin of the F-22, then Boeing knows that you can work on their new project with no delay - the security clearance is already there (paid for by Lockheed, thank you very much), so come on over!
Remember that security clearances (like anything good) have expiration dates. The better the clearance, the more often the renewal. Some may require renewals every six months. In these cases, simply having a job that does NOT require you to see or work with classified material will cause your clearance to expire. If you get shuffled over to an office that doesn’t deal with sensitive material - say adios to your top-level clearance.
So, getting a security clearance is not like going to bartender school - just one more thing on the resume. If you get one, it’s because someone thought you needed one.
Just out of curiosity, assuming that someone isn’t actually a terrorist or spy, what kind of things will prevent you from getting a security clearance?
Depends on the security clearance and believe it or not, on the opinion of the security interviewer. He or she recommends you for a clearance even though you smoked pot in college, you get the clearance. Your interviewer is a hard ass about it & thinks you’re a bird-turd, you don’t.
Also kinda depends on how much they need you to have a clearance. Let’s face it, Bush got busted for cocaine. Cheney’s got multiple DUIs. They both have higher clearances than you’ll ever have. If you had their records & tried to get a clearance you’d have a much tougher time of it and in this day & age might never get one.
I’m not trying to be vague, but there really is a lot of wiggle room. 10-15 years ago some military guys with prior felonies would often (eventually) get Top Secrets. I knew a girl who attempted suicide while on active duty & she got her clearance back, and it was TS/SBI. Most civilian employers wouldn’t bother trying after finding out you had a criminal record or history of emotional problems.
A lot of people don’t realize whether or not you get a clearance and more importantly access, is based on your need to know. It’s not like you get a TS & suddenly you have access to everything TS, everywhere. You have no need to know, it’s none of your business. You need access to certain information to do your job, you get access to that information, and nothing more.
Some specific no-nos that jump to mind: Financial problems/irresponsibility, lying on a job application, suspicious contact with foreign nationals, particularly “enemy” nationals, travel to “enemy” countries, foreign allegiance, membership in a foreign military, substance/alcohol abuse, drug use/convictions, criminal record in general, membership in organizations considered potentially subversive (i.e. Green Peace/PETA could count). You probably heard being homosexual was a no-no up until the last few years. Some agencies will deny you a clearance if you fail a polygraph, whether you’re guilty of anything or not.
But like I said, none of these is an absolute bar to a clearance depending on individual circumstances & the opinion of the security interviewer.
When and where was Bush busted for cocaine? (I assume you mean the current President).
Also, Bush and Cheney didn’t have to go through the vetting process. They essentialy got their clearences when they were elected. And please, let’s not get into a debate about whether they were elected or not.
It took about six months for me to get my Secret clearance. The investigating agency was the Defense Investigative Service. DIS also investigated me for my TS. That one took another six months. (FWIW, DIS is called something else now.) Within five years of getting a clearance, I understand it’s fairly simple to have it reactivated if you have not held one in that time. But after five years, I think it will take months to get (again).
It kinda startled the building manager when some Guys In Suits came by to ask about me. She thought I was in trouble! LOL
I was able to get my dossier through the Freedom of Information Act. It took a long time (especially since I requested it after 9/11/2001). I keep it around in case I get another job that requires a clearance so I can give the same answers. 
Yeah, I ordered a copy of mine under FOIA too, for the sheer amusement value. They interviewed people I used to babysit for, of all things, as well as everyone ever connected with my various study-abroad programs. It was some damn hilarious reading.