5 ms·

Is drug testing common in the US? Here in the UK, outside of certain fields, I've never heard of it and would laugh if I were asked to.

benwad 7y ago
It's never happened to me (I'm in the UK) but I know people who have worked on big public-sector projects where they require that everyone working on it is subject to random drug tests. Network Rail was one example.
danaliv 7y ago
Depends on the industry and the class of job. In software and white collar work in general it’s almost unheard of. Go farther down the class scale and it becomes very common.
- anonu 7y ago
  In every bank job I started in NYC I had to take a drug test before I started. Anecdotal... But white collar jobs still do it. I'm also pretty sure most government jobs require it periodically.
  - koolba 7y ago
    I’ve never heard of a finance industry job that required repeated drug testing. Only at first hire time. That also makes it kind of obvious that someone is getting ready to jump ship if they stop smoking marijuana for a couple weeks.
- numbsafari 7y ago
  If your job requires a security clearance... random testing is a real thing. Same with the medical industry. If you work in a safety critical, or security critical role, then there is randomized testing as well as pre-employment testing. This can be especially frustrating if you work as a contractor in those industries...
- sametmax 7y ago
  Do they test only marijuana or alcohol, anti-depressant and cocaine as well ?
  - Simon_says 7y ago
    They test for illegal drug use. So, marijuana, cocaine, and the like. For driving/piloting jobs, they might add alcohol, but only for a spot test whilst on duty, not general consumption.
    - sametmax 7y ago
      So it's not about not being under the influence of something impairing, it's about insurance ? Meaning you can abuse any drug as long as it's legal ?
      - pennaMan 7y ago
        Were you under the naive impression that those drug tests were for the good of the employees?
        sametmax 7y ago
        USA is not my culture, I need pointers to understand.
        mj_olnir 7y ago
        No worries. A lot of our issues stem from our (mostly) Republican Party's "War on Drugs". I could give you a rundown, but the summary section from Wikipedia does a good job. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_drugs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_drugs
auiya 7y ago
Yes it is common in most states. This will probably shock people who have never traveled outside the major metro areas of the west coast.
asdff 7y ago
Typically if you drive or operate equipment you are tested regularly. Otherwise you only encounter pre employment tests and that's only found with entry level jobs. Anything above entry level, they are hiring for your past performance and don't care what you need to do during your free time to keep up your groove.

benwad 7y ago

It's never happened to me (I'm in the UK) but I know people who have worked on big public-sector projects where they require that everyone working on it is subject to random drug tests. Network Rail was one example.

danaliv 7y ago

Depends on the industry and the class of job. In software and white collar work in general it’s almost unheard of. Go farther down the class scale and it becomes very common.

anonu 7y ago
In every bank job I started in NYC I had to take a drug test before I started. Anecdotal... But white collar jobs still do it. I'm also pretty sure most government jobs require it periodically.
- koolba 7y ago
  I’ve never heard of a finance industry job that required repeated drug testing. Only at first hire time. That also makes it kind of obvious that someone is getting ready to jump ship if they stop smoking marijuana for a couple weeks.
numbsafari 7y ago
If your job requires a security clearance... random testing is a real thing. Same with the medical industry. If you work in a safety critical, or security critical role, then there is randomized testing as well as pre-employment testing. This can be especially frustrating if you work as a contractor in those industries...
sametmax 7y ago
Do they test only marijuana or alcohol, anti-depressant and cocaine as well ?
- Simon_says 7y ago
  They test for illegal drug use. So, marijuana, cocaine, and the like. For driving/piloting jobs, they might add alcohol, but only for a spot test whilst on duty, not general consumption.
  - sametmax 7y ago
    So it's not about not being under the influence of something impairing, it's about insurance ? Meaning you can abuse any drug as long as it's legal ?
    - pennaMan 7y ago
      Were you under the naive impression that those drug tests were for the good of the employees?
      - sametmax 7y ago
        USA is not my culture, I need pointers to understand.
        mj_olnir 7y ago
        No worries. A lot of our issues stem from our (mostly) Republican Party's "War on Drugs". I could give you a rundown, but the summary section from Wikipedia does a good job. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_drugs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_drugs

auiya 7y ago

Yes it is common in most states. This will probably shock people who have never traveled outside the major metro areas of the west coast.

asdff 7y ago

Typically if you drive or operate equipment you are tested regularly. Otherwise you only encounter pre employment tests and that's only found with entry level jobs. Anything above entry level, they are hiring for your past performance and don't care what you need to do during your free time to keep up your groove.