So it turns out that my chosen fields of study may just make me a candidate for a future with one of the US intelligence agencies, albeit as an desk-jockey, not James Bond. The idea in general appeals to me a lot more than anything else I might be able to snag in the next five years or so. I understand that trust and loyalty would be important in such a position, and I feel I could do my job regardless of my feelings about policies of whatever administration (within the limits of what we’re likely to get in the coming years) might be in place at the time, especially since what I’d be doing should be pretty benign. But with all this “patriotic” insanity going around, I’m wondering how much room there is for personal opinion in this and other government positions. Does anyone with any experience know, for instance, if it would cause problems for me to not be a fan of the administration as long as I wasn’t excessively vocal about it and just stuck to the job? I don’t know if anyone here is working in an area where “loyalty” would be as big a concern as it would in intelligence, but any input would be appreciated, thanks.
One of my firm’s clients is under consideration for a defense contract, and the client’s general counsel is a good friend of mine, so I was recently interviewed by the Defense Intelligence Agency. The agent’s questions did address my friend’s loyalty, but all the questions concerned her loyalty to the nation, not to the incumbent administration or to any particular government policy. The agent asked several questions about, for example, whether my friend had ever used illegal drugs, enaged in other criminal activity, or participated in terrorism. The agent never asked about my friend’s views on politics.
There are probably at least as many civil servants on the job who were hired by a Democratic administration as were hired by a Republican administration. If the job that you are applying for is a senior policymaking job, then your support for the incumbent administration may be relevant. But if the job is a civil-service job, then I doubt that your personal politics will even come up.
I agree with **brianmelendez. ** And I suspect that there are probably no questions about politics and/or religion. I think the main issue is how trustworthy you are re: national security. Good luck!
I’ve been a federal contract employee for 7 years, and have done recommendation interviews for three friends who were up for jobs for the military or defense contractors. The interviewers do not ask about political affiliations or opinions. They want to know how long you’ve known the person in question, if they can be trusted to work in a security sensitive position (if the job is high security), and if they can be considered loyal to the U.S. Unless you’ve heard your friend making plans to overthrow the gov’t or shoot the president, you just say “Yes” to that last one.
In all the time I’ve worked for the gov’t, personal political issues have never come up. I generally avoid talking about politics in the office anyway, but whom I voted for and how I feel about the current or past administrations probably wouldn’t make a difference in my position even if I were more vocal about them.
Administrations come and go (for which I’m devoutly grateful) so your career would span a series of such changes. I think brianmelendez nailed it. You’d be in service to the country, not the administration du jour.
Good luck! This isn’t a populary held viewpoint, but government service can be a noble thing. We need good people serving.
Veb
Before I could take a relatively unimportant position as a paper pusher at my county courthouse in Pennsylvania, I had to sign a “loyalty oath” that I would not try to overthrow the government or conspire with/aid those who would. The clerk that handed me the paper laughed when she gave it to me, I’m guessing it’s a relic from the Red Scare or something.
Thanks guys, that all sounds fairly encouraging. Glad someone dug this back up after it sunk with one opinion.
I’ve worked for the Dept of the Navy, both active duty and as a civilian, for nearly 30 years now. One of my jobs was in an Intel-related organization, so I had all kinds of clearances I’d never heard of. Never were my politics questioned.
I’d also like to mention that many of my coworkers and inter-agency associates in the Intel community were totally insane! They made Dopers seem mundane. I wish I was back among them - best of luck to you. You’ll either love it or hate it - hope you truly love it!
I’ve no idea whether it will practically make a difference, but I’d just like to point out that one of the worst things about Nazi Germany and the old USSR was that you had to be a member of the appropriate political party. One would hope we have gone beyond this
Sure… that’s what Jack Ryan thought too
It depends on how difficult you find it to keep silent about political issues, especially if they relate directly to your job. I don’t think anyone will turn you down for a job because you hold a lawful political opinion, but one of the main reasons I left my job at Immigration Court was because I had a very hard time keeping my mouth shut in what I saw as the numerous injustices perpetrated upon innocent people by the immigration bureaucracy.
I was a court interpreter, so I was supposed to appear absolutely neutral no matter what craziness was going on in the courtroom (and believe me, I could tell stories). I found it difficult to stay calm when, say, the INS attorney suggested that perhaps there really was no persecution of political activists in El Salvador in the 1980’s, or that rape is never used as a form of political violence, and so the judge would be forced to make an unrepresented person with no English and almost no formal education prove something which everyone in the room knew damn well was true. It pissed me off to no end, but there was nothing I could do to help. Finally, I quit and went to grad school.
YMMV, of course. It depends on how passionate you are about your opinions.