Re: Obtaining a US Govt Security Clearance

[Vin McLellan <vin () theworld com>]

At 5/4/2004, Adam Shostack wrote:

> Oh, if you want to work in a clearance required facility, you'll have
> to find one that's willing to pick up the cost of sending you through
> the system.

A year ago, that could take as much as 18 months and could cost the hiring 
agency (directly, or as a pass-through from a civilian contractor) as much 
as $50k.

Recent reports seem to indicate that the backlog is down to around 12 months.

Adam's flights of fancy aside,  as others have noted, you are only 
permitted to obtain a US security clearance if you have a job assignment 
that warrants it -- and, by the regs, you only hold that clearance for so 
long as you have that assignment.

There are over 20 different US federal agencies or agency departments which 
can require a security clearance, and <sigh> apparently all of them have 
different criteria and a different vetting process for someone seeking to 
obtain their respective clearance.  A clearance issued by one often does 
not transfer to another.

The cost, complexity, and time involved in the process are such that 
cleared personnel typically earn a significant premium over uncleared 
personnel. Industry and government agencies now compete for pre-cleared 
staff -- which means agencies and contractors are stealing vetted employees 
from one another, since there is no "waiting pool" of cleared but 
unemployed employees.

Although there are several new federal initiatives to reform the 
process,  it is still a terribly wasteful and flawed bureaucratic 
imbroglio.  See an industry white paper on suggested improvements in the 
process at: <http://www.itaa.org/es/docs/securityclearancewhitepaper.pdf>

Suerte,
        _Vin


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