How much advantage does having a clearance provide?

I have friends who tell me their TS/SCI is extremely helpful in finding a job. I live in an area with a base, but cannot find any jobs. I've searched clearancejobs as well. Many of these positions seem to be located in DC/VA.

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Comments

TomkoTech

Im fairly certain you can't just go out and get a clearance. It's been awhile since I was in the military. But if I recall correctly as a civilian you need an eligible civilian contractor/company to sponsor you for the clearance.

Eston21

Go to the company's actual website, like Lockheed, Harris, Northop, this is a much better way to see what is out there. Also on job posting sites like dice, Monster, etc make you sure list on the resume and in your settings that you have a clearance. I got a contract job just by having my clearance listed in my settings.

Johnjones

TomkoTech wrote: »

Im fairly certain you can't just go out and get a clearance. It's been awhile since I was in the military. But if I recall correctly as a civilian you need an eligible civilian contractor/company to sponsor you for the clearance.

No you're correct. I have a clearance...but it doesn't seem to be doing me any good as I can't seem to land any of the positions which require it.

zidian

Johnjones wrote: »

[h=1]How much advantage does having a clearance provide?[/h]

Jobs that require a clearance have a smaller pool of people to draw from as not everyone can qualify for a security clearance. So for those jobs, there is less competition than for your typical job posting. Getting a security clearance is a process that can take from 4 weeks to 6 months. So these companies also prefer to hire people that already have the clearance. This saves them both time and money (getting a clearance isn't free).

Now, how much will having a clearance help you getting a job? It's hard to say. In a market with many job vacancies, it won't matter much. The applicant pool is small enough compared to the open positions that you will likely find a job at a non clearance position or get hired on and then obtain a clearance.

However, if the market has very few job vacancies (high unemployment), it could make a difference. This means the jobs that require a clearance have a larger pool of applicants and will likely focus on those already cleared.

In my experience, I don't think it matters too much in most markets. The jobs requiring a clearance typically have pay grades set by policy from a government agency or contract. This means the pay rate may not be as much as a bump (if any at all) as you would expect, since they have a smaller pool of candidates.

the_Grinch

Huge advantage. Clearances are very expensive (figure at least 50k) so if a company can skip that process since you are already cleared that means they get paid sooner. That being said, not something you can do on your own need to be sponsored (be it a contracting company, government agency, or the military).

beaucaldwell

Johnjones wrote: »

No you're correct. I have a clearance...but it doesn't seem to be doing me any good as I can't seem to land any of the positions which require it.

look up SAIC or Leido's, both have tons of available IT positions on the east coast that require clearance.