Good Morning Raytheon Volunteers,
First of all, thank you for taking the time to answer questions today, your insight is very helpful. I have a very specific question based on geographic and security clearance constraints. I served as an Infantry officer for 5 years, but finished as my battalion's logistics officer, and then got out and attended graduate school. I graduated from Georgetown this spring with an international affairs MS focused on national security and illicit finance.
However, my wife is active duty and stationed at Ft Bragg, so since graduating from Georgetown I have been working from home for a consulting firm that advises on illicit finance. This has been nice, but I cannot work from home forever so I've been looking for opportunities in the area. Unfortunately, my security clearance has expired, and I only ever held a Secret Clearance while it was active. Do any of you have any experience or advice on how to break into contracting in an area like Ft Bragg where a majority of the positions require an active TS/SCI clearance but you do not have an active clearance?
Thank you,
Michael
Answers
Captain White,
I would advise to apply for any position you feel you are well matched to from a job description perspective, even if the requisition indicates that an active clearance is required or preferred. If your qualifications are a need for that organization they may still hire you and re-apply for your clearance. It does take a great deal of time for the clearance but I am in that position right now myself. I have been waiting almost a year for my clearance but have had a substantial amount of unclassified work to attend to in the meanwhile.
Regards,
Derek
Michael,
I was in the same position as you - qualified for many positions but had no security clearance. I was rejected many times by companies who refused to even speak to anyone without holding a clearance walking in the door.
However, I persisted and eventually found a position with an employer that was able to bring me on board and sponsor my clearance. The employer that sponsored me was the DoD itself and my initial clearance was only Secret. That opened doors for me and I was able to use that clearance to obtain employment with other employers while increasing my security clearance up to TS/SCI.
My advice is to seek employment opportunities with the US Government or large companies such as Raytheon. They are the ones that have multiple projects and opportunities where you can be gainfully employed working Unclassified projects while waiting for your clearance to be completed. Smaller companies do not have the overhead to hire employees on payroll while they wait for the clearance to be completed.
Best of luck to you in your job search.
Rich
Michael,
You should have received a couple notes from me concerning opportunities in the Fayetteville, NC, area. If for some reason not, let me know. I have family there and one of the companies that my daughter-in-law worked for may be something to look in to.
V/R,
John
Your Answer
Please log in to answer this question.