(inspired by another thread) does anyone know what's checked in a low level security clearance?

[nashville_brook]

i'm job hunting and some companies require a "Security Clearance," which i assume is the lowest level of clearance. has anyone done this? do you know that they check, or what's involved?

it seems like a giant pain in the ass, and it creeps me out to have people poking around in my life. am i overreacting?

[selador]

1. generally speaking...

criminal history, civil history (liens, bankruptcies, civil suits), address history, driving history, and protective orders

[nashville_brook]

25. yep -- that's what I was turning up in my google-searching, and i just couldn't

believe that it was that "surface-y." i've had background checks to rent an apartment that asked for that information.

[XemaSab]

2. I had to get checked out for access to the airport grounds

It was all stuff like "Have you ever been convicted of homicide? Sedition? Treason?"

I think as long as you don't have any serious crimes in your past you'll be okay. :shrug:

[nashville_brook]

16. i had to do a "background check" to get a job at an airport, so i guess i've already

"been cleared." hmmm.

thanks.

[BadgerKid]

3. Haven't done it but presumably

police record, credit check, references, and web search. Does drug testing fall under "security clearance"? :shrug:

[Oldtimeralso]

4. As for Drug Testing

It depends on which drugs you want me to test!

[nashville_brook]

18. oh yeah -- that's specified.

[neverforget]

5. This link should help answer some your questions.

http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/generalinfo/a/security.htm

[nashville_brook]

23. thank you...i had seen this before i posted and couldn't believe that it's so cursory.

so i wondered if i was getting the right info. this sounds like less than you go thru to get a decent apartment these days.

[Warpy]

6. Not much

They make sure you're not in the cop computer system as anything but a traffic scofflaw (but DUIs will not get you the job), that you've lived where you said you've lived over the past couple of years, that your work history is accurate, and that you're a decent banking customer.

That's about it.

If they talk to any of your neighbors, it'll be to verify that you live there and how long you've been living there.

It's boring and routine. The ones I got when I worked for NASA and later at the Federal Reserve were a little more exhaustive, as were the ones I got when I worked for big banks back in the dark ages before I had anything to hide.

:evilgrin:

[alfredo]

8. One of our neighbors freaked thinking I was in trouble when the FBI

came calling to ask about me.

I was going for a Top Secret Crypto clearance. I got it.

[better tomorrow]

10. this link should explain all......

http://jobsearchtech.about.com/od/governmentjobs/l/aa_security.htm

Good luck!

[nashville_brook]

21. that is very helpful, thank you!

[better tomorrow]

11. so...are you showing your age?

Communication Security (COMSEC) material is either key or code
and requires special handling. It is marked CRYPTO. Additional
penalties do apply. There is a requirement that it must be
continually accounted for, so the custody requires each person to
sign for it, and when they transfer it, they must have the next holder
sign also. If someone tells you they had a SECRET CRYPTO
clearance, they are showing their age. The material is still
marked CRYPTO, but clearance long ago stopped reflecting this.

[alfredo]

12. Old as dirt. I was Morse Intercept, so was Johnny Cash.

USASA 1965 to 1969

http://kagnewstation.com/

[nashville_brook]

22. that's very cool. it even sounds cool -- "crypto"

would be a great name for a band. :evilgrin:

[alfredo]

24. Gore Vidal Called Buckley a Crypto Fascist. Crypto means hidden

[nashville_brook]

26. yeah, i know -- it also connotes "crypt," like Tales From the Crypt

i LOVE words like this, with a meaning and a subtext -- former Latin nerd i am. i recently came across Vidal's quote on Buckley (following his death). It's RICH with meaning and perfectly apt for Buckley...as well as the entire Bush administration...although, you could say that they are becoming less "crypto" by the hour. roaring out of the closet.

that must have been fascinating work, btw. thank you for the info too!

[alfredo]

27. At times it was, but most of the time it was just a pain in the ass.

[Arctic Dave]

13. Crypto. I thought you seemed a little freaky.

Everyone I ever dealt with was a little "strange".:crazy:

[alfredo]

14. It will scar you for life. I lucked out with PTSD, and hearing loss.

[nashville_brook]

17. this would be more like for NASA, i think

i'm a marketing communications professional, and here in Central Florida there's lots of gigs with contractors for "educational materials." Companies like Seimens. Defense. Ugh.

I've been unemployed for so long, i'm actually considering pursuit of work in the defense industry.

[virgdem]

7. To my knowledge...

there are different levels of security clearances. In the military, a security clearance is based on the "need to know" and is issued according to the level of information that one would need to access. For instance, in the Navy, a IS or CT (Cryptologic Technician) would have a Top Secret clearance, while a YN (Yeoman, which I was) would hold a Secret or a lower level of Top Secret. The process of obtaining a Security Clearance is a lengthy and expensive one, and many companies that have ties with the Federal Government want job candidates to already have a clearance of some sort just because it is so expensive. When a security clearance is conducted, they usually ask you to go back at least 10 years and they will talk to all the contacts that you put down on the application. It is a giant PITA (pain in the you know where), but if you are applying for a Federal or military contractor position, it is a necessary PITA.

[nashville_brook]

20. this is exactly what i'm talking about...

The jobs that I'm looking at are actually *offering* to do the security clearance for "creative professionals" who don't have a military background. I'm in marketing communications, so the work would be stuff like "educational materials" for new technology and "defense," or "homeland security" services. I'm imagining brochures for new technology like drones. "Marketing for arms dealers" is another way to put it.

[better tomorrow]

9. may include fingerprint check....

like all people working in a school have to do. I have had three of them and joke each time I have one that I have been fingerprinted more times than the criminals.

But, make sure you don't have a MySpace page, either.....

[nashville_brook]

19. nope -- just a DU Journal.

[BluWtrLynn]

15. Here are the requirements for a TWIC.

http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/twic/twic_faqs.shtm |Transporation Workers Identity Credential>