Let My Clearance Expire

[FONT=&quot]Decided i no longer want to work for DoD contracting companies. The pay is great (100k) especially compared to the amount of actual experience i have but man is it boring . Most of the time im sitting on my a$$ in my office. I get a ticket once a week .
I did take this down time to study and im close to wrapping up my CCNP and been practicing python on the side.. not going to lie im kinda scared of not being able to land a job and getting paid significantly less but its a risk im willing to take to better my career.. i dont want to end up being one of those “engineers “ getting paid 150k a year just to change a vlan on a port.
Rants over.. how big of a mistake am i making lol
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MeanDrunkR2D2

There is a lot to be said for being happy and enjoying your work. And if you work it out right, you can keep your pay at a similar level and having fun.

Tekn0logy

nothimagain wrote: »

[FONT=&amp]how big of a mistake am i making lol[/FONT]

What if headhunters think you committed some cardinal offense causing you to loose your clearance?
What if they put your name on some secret "do not hire" list to avoid doing actual legwork for a background check?
You have to consider that your next job, the interviewer will ask, why you left and why you let your clearance expire.
If you can give a professional answer, then go for it.

nothimagain wrote: »

[FONT=&amp]i dont want to end up being one of those “engineers “ getting paid 150k a year just to change a vlan on a port.[/FONT]

Trust me, you wont.
Once the company you work for sees your productivity numbers, unless you are friends of the account manager or "The Golden Child", at $150k they will figure a way to get you reassigned or terminated. One bit of advice, don't tell anyone how much on-the-job free time you have and complain in the same sentence. When you complain about your job be prepared to step the next day.

In reality, if you learn everything about your job and get certs, your next job should just be a horizontal transfer with no significant reduction in salary.

MeanDrunkR2D2

Tekn0logy wrote: »

Trust me, you wont.
Once the company you work for sees your productivity numbers, unless you are friends of the account manager or "The Golden Child", at $150k they will figure a way to get you reassigned or terminated. One bit of advice, don't tell anyone how much on-the-job free time you have and complain in the same sentence. When you complain about your job be prepared to step the next day.

Having worked for the federal government in the past, let me echo what he says can be true with how slow it can be. In my experiences I could only work as fast as people would submit tickets. I've had stretches of up to 10 days between tickets, especially when half the people are on vacation (Or their boss) and they put off tickets until they return. Or avoid turning in the tickets until the end of the day and nobody stays after shift.

The didn't fire or reassign people that literally had nothing to do. They just did whatever they could do and waited until the next task. Jumping into someone elses tasks could get a person fired if you stepped one inch outside your duties.

I know, it makes little sense, but it's the way too much of the federal government is in some domains.

TechGromit

I've had similar experiences, nothing going on for weeks at a time, but I've had times I was working 12 hours days under pressure to complete a project by the deadline. My advise is volunteer for more things to do if your bored at what your currently doing.

networker050184

I let mine expire long ago. Didn't want to work slow gov work. Haven't regretted it at all.

Good luck!

McxRisley

To echo what others have said, complaining about having free time at your job is probably not something you should do and is a prime example of why you will probly never make any great leaps and bounds during your career. If you have free time, use that time to improve processes, develope skills or solutions. Also, govt work being slow isnt indicative of all govt work. depending on your role it could be slow, but there are plenty of roles where it is 110% balls to the wall 24/7.

nothimagain

McxRisley wrote: »

To echo what others have said, complaining about having free time at your job is probably not something you should do and is a prime example of why you will probly never make any great leaps and bounds during your career. If you have free time, use that time to improve processes, develope skills or solutions. Also, govt work being slow isnt indicative of all govt work. depending on your role it could be slow, but there are plenty of roles where it is 110% balls to the wall 24/7.

If u read past the first 2 lines of my post you would kniw ive taken this time to study CCNP and python. Ive gone through three government roles in hopes of finding somewhere where u arent just filling a seat.

The fact is theres only so much studying can bring. You need real world experience to know practicality

J_86

Tekn0logy wrote: »

What if headhunters think you committed some cardinal offense causing you to loose your clearance?
What if they put your name on some secret "do not hire" list to avoid doing actual legwork for a background check?
You have to consider that your next job, the interviewer will ask, why you left and why you let your clearance expire.
If you can give a professional answer, then go for it.

Trust me, you wont.
Once the company you work for sees your productivity numbers, unless you are friends of the account manager or "The Golden Child", at $150k they will figure a way to get you reassigned or terminated. One bit of advice, don't tell anyone how much on-the-job free time you have and complain in the same sentence. When you complain about your job be prepared to step the next day.

In reality, if you learn everything about your job and get certs, your next job should just be a horizontal transfer with no significant reduction in salary.

Uhh, what? No recruiter is going to know anything about clearance, besides asking "do you have it". There is no public database or anything to check this.

ITHokie

Tekn0logy wrote: »

What if headhunters think you committed some cardinal offense causing you to loose your clearance?
What if they put your name on some secret "do not hire" list to avoid doing actual legwork for a background check?
You have to consider that your next job, the interviewer will ask, why you left and why you let your clearance expire.

If a headhunter thinks that, they're clueless and you'd be better off avoiding them. If one has a good answer for leaving their employer, they have a good answer for allowing a clearance to expire. Granting agencies will not renew clearances if you're not working for them.

J_86

It's not that uncommon for people to leave jobs that require clearance and let it lapse. The biggest hassle is getting it again, because after a certain number of years you have to start the whole process over again. That's the main thing to think about.

ITHokie

nothimagain wrote: »

[FONT="]Decided i no longer want to work for DoD contracting companies. The pay is great (100k) especially compared to the amount of actual experience i have but man is it boring . Most of the time im sitting on my a$$ in my office. I get a ticket once a week .
I did take this down time to study and im close to wrapping up my CCNP and been practicing python on the side.. not going to lie im kinda scared of not being able to land a job and getting paid significantly less but its a risk im willing to take to better my career.. i dont want to end up being one of those “engineers “ getting paid 150k a year just to change a vlan on a port.
Rants over.. how big of a mistake am i making lol
[/FONT]

I left the federal space a couple years ago and currently make significantly more. Rates for advanced security roles are definitely not on par with what can be made in the commercial sector. I think this also probably true for advanced IT roles. There is a lot of variability, so YMMV. The point is that earnings opportunities in commercial vs federal will likely change as your career progresses.

Tekn0logy

J_86 wrote: »

Uhh, what? No recruiter is going to know anything about clearance, besides asking "do you have it". There is no public database or anything to check this.

OK, I'll rephrase; If your resume indicates that you worked for a government contractor, the recruiter might possibly ask you why you left your previous employment and may lead to the question if you have a valid security clearance. If not seeking a clearance required position, no sweat, however a recruiter that deals in placing people into gov't contractors may wonder why you are leaving, and not having an answer to this question can raise red flags.

Understood that nobody can just willy-nilly go checking people's security clearances like it was a credit report since there is no "public" database, however I did find this: http://www.dss.mil/documents/psmo-i/ID_Consult_Contractor_and_Key_Mang_Personnel.pdf
Seems that a gov't contractor with access and valid/legal reason can inquire through JPAS: DSS / Joint Personnel Adjudication System (JPAS)

ITHokie

JPAS is one of the systems that holds clearance info. Unless they're in a role that requires access to process or validate clearances, they're not going to have access. Headhunters will not have access, though they may know someone who does. Facility Security Officers (FSOs), for example, have access.

DatabaseHead

networker050184 wrote: »

I let mine expire long ago. Didn't want to work slow gov work. Haven't regretted it at all.

Good luck!

Awful I was a FTE in the Government for 6 years and it was horrid. In fact since I have 10 years of experience now I leave it off of my resume.....

yoba222

nothimagain wrote: »

[FONT=&amp].. i dont want to end up being one of those “engineers “ getting paid 150k a year just to change a vlan on a port.
Rants over.. how big of a mistake am i making lol . . . [/FONT]

I believe that the unspoken second part of your fear is that you give in and become lazy/complacent and collect that 150k salary. Then, a few years down the road, the contract dries up and you find yourself to be royally screwed because you'd gained basically nothing in terms of work experience that entire time.

It's a lot harder to fake it with a resume that claims you are a network engineer with 10 years of experience and 8 of those years were spent seat warming for a DoD contract. I let mine expire. I believe that I've grown way more by taking the path that I have compared with having stayed on that DoD path.

EMT760

Meanwhile guys like me would love to work a entry level gig, Help Desk,etc government contractor GS position. Complaining about 100k, with a few tickets a week. Thanks for the laugh.

networker050184

The grass is always greener as they say.

TechGromit

nothimagain wrote: »

If u read past the first 2 lines of my post you would kniw ive taken this time to study CCNP and python. Ive gone through three government roles in hopes of finding somewhere where u arent just filling a seat.

Careful what you wish for, you could end up at a job putting in 60 hours a week, be on call all the time for less money. I'm not entirely clear why your letting your clearance expire, is it to force you to look for another job in the private sector? Wouldn’t it be wiser to look for another job / get another job in the private sector and keep your security clearance current? This way if you find out you made a huge mistake you can easily return to government work. This would be the wiser course of action.

BlackBeret

I try not to criticize often, but I feel the need to make a comment for anyone else reading this thread. Especially since a few people already commented positively on this...

That was freakin dumb. There are PLENTY of jobs in government contracting and federal service where you will be worked like a dog. I've seen entire multibuilding campus of 3500+ end users being supported by two GS 7 engineers and one GS 9 "supervisor" who were responsible for everything from rebuilding the wired and wireless infrastructure to trouble tickets, to end user support. I've seen a LOT of contractors that end up in busy and rewarding positions. Ultimately, if you're bored it's your own fault. There's always something that can be improved, documented, done more efficiently, etc.

Just because you had a slow job, doesn't mean they're all like that. The same thing happens in the civilian side, some positions are busier than others. All you did was close the door to X number of possible positions. You didn't do anything to better yourself or your career.

nothimagain

BlackBeret wrote: »

I try not to criticize often, but I feel the need to make a comment for anyone else reading this thread. Especially since a few people already commented positively on this...

That was freakin dumb. There are PLENTY of jobs in government contracting and federal service where you will be worked like a dog. I've seen entire multibuilding campus of 3500+ end users being supported by two GS 7 engineers and one GS 9 "supervisor" who were responsible for everything from rebuilding the wired and wireless infrastructure to trouble tickets, to end user support. I've seen a LOT of contractors that end up in busy and rewarding positions. Ultimately, if you're bored it's your own fault. There's always something that can be improved, documented, done more efficiently, etc.

Just because you had a slow job, doesn't mean they're all like that. The same thing happens in the civilian side, some positions are busier than others. All you did was close the door to X number of possible positions. You didn't do anything to better yourself or your career.

I have about 2 years left on it if i want to change my mind. Thanks for your input.

LordQarlyn

networker050184 wrote: »

The grass is always greener as they say.

Ah, but not everyone is seeking greener grass. Sometimes, the grass is just too green where one is at. Sometimes, one simply is after different grass.

josephandre

nothimagain wrote: »

I have about 2 years left on it if i want to change my mind. Thanks for your input.

so then that's not an expiration

reloaded

IMO, if you don't like the DoD environment that's ok, but the whole idea about leaving your clearance behind because your current job sucks is short sighted. Unless you're in an area with hardly any federal IT jobs at all, plenty of the major systems integrators that are involved with DoD / IC contracts totally want people with clearance + CCNA / CCNP + experienc - and they'll put you to work right away! If you're sitting on your butt all day, it's time to step out of your comfort zone and ask the engineers if they need an extra hand, volunteer for projects that come up, or start making connections with others. I worked in a NOC for two years (never having touched a router) and ended up landing a gig as a campus network engineer because of the experience I gained and the connections I made. That turned into a six year stint of learning lots of different tech before going consultant (again, landing the gig because of the connections / work ethic). So if you're slacking around in the office with nothing to do, it's time to find something that will land you on the next path. My two cents.

EANx

nothimagain wrote: »

I have about 2 years left on it if i want to change my mind. Thanks for your input.

Then you didn't let it expire, you simply stopped using it. HUGE difference.

TechGuru80

A lot of comments from people who don't actually understand how it works.

1. If you leave a job with a clearance and go to a non clearance job, you have 2 years to return to a job that requires a clearance before it will expire and forces you to restart the process. Reobtaining a clearance is easier than getting the initial clearance.

2. If you are close to a re-up of your clearance, I would wait to get the new dates because you probably will have issues if your investigation date falls within the two year break.

3. There aren't that many headhunters for cleared jobs, and postings will list if a clearance is required. Companies will verify before extending an offer NO MATTER WHAT...the headhunter won't have access to check.

4. People are stating that it "potentially looks bad to let your clearance expire"....that is false and the only reason why you might get asked is if you leave, and then try to reenter a clearance required job.

5. If you live in an area like Washington DC or Maryland....I wouldn't go to a non clearance job unless you are absolutely certain because of how heavily weighted the job market is with clearance jobs. If you live in other parts of the country it might be different depending on where.

https://help.clearancejobs.com/security-clearance-qa/how-can-i-obtain-information-on-my-clearance-expiration-date/

There are benefits for both types of environments...be aware that there is a personality shift outside of government. Things like pay, on-call requirements, culture...all can be drastically different between the two. Also, if you are making $150k to do basic stuff...get into management for a new change, or find hobbies outside of work since you are getting paid very well.

COBOL_DOS_ERA

Just my .002 cents on it, as Techguru said, it's a different process when its come to clearance. Now a days, most of the company wants people who already has a clearance; they don't want to spend much money and time on it. Depending on the job, it's take a long time to receive those clearance. For me it took them 8 months just to adjudicate my Secret clearance, which expired for a while since I moved to a position where Secret was no longer needed but all they needed was an MBI. Since, you are happy to sit on your inactive clearance, its okay to explore position outside of DOD, and you can start looking for DOD/DHS job say after 1.5 years that's the way it won't be hard to reactivate your clarance. After 2 years, its a whole 9 yards again

jwdk19

I agree with TechGuru. I spent 7.5 years in DoD IT (between active duty military and Goverment contractor ). It is a different world in the DoD. Especially as it relates to clearances.

If you do not come from this world or have beneficial knowledge of this world. Then just refrain from commenting. You will end up confusing people.

OP, I regret allowing my TS clearance to expire. I have little doubt that I could be making 20k+ per year doing 30-40% less work, with no 24x7 on call status.

Then again, money is not everything and maybe I would be burned out, as you are. There is something to be said about job satisfaction for sure.