18 ms·

Hey, posting anonymously here since this hits close to home; as I'm also a felon. I learned to program _after_ all my legal troubles started, and my sentence wa

Hey, posting anonymously here since this hits close to home; as I'm also a felon. I learned to program _after_ all my legal troubles started, and my sentence wasn't _nearly_ as long as this (6 months, drug crime). I 100% honestly feel like tech saved my life. My first job immediately gave me hope that I'm not defined by my past. Went from working in a factory making $7/hr (about 10 yrs ago), to now grossing well over 6 figures (currently making west coast type wages). Run a small consultancy now and can even subcontract out work to a few friends. I know there's alot of talk on how to make the industry more inclusive (which I agree we need to do better at). But I can't think of any industry as meritocratic as tech.

weka 6y ago
That is great to hear. I am happy for you. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of tech consulting do you do?
- anon55555 6y ago
  Mostly web dev currently but I've worked in a few different domains.
  - weka 6y ago
    Dang. That sounds great. I hope to one day start my own consulting firm.
jph 6y ago
Congratulations! I'm with a YC company that helps formerly-incarcerated people with jobs, and would love to talk with you about what you're doing. Like you, we believe that coding and tech can be a potential way to help rentry. Work email is joel@70millionjobs.com.
- comprev 6y ago
  70M jobs was just the company I was thinking of. Fantastic positive outlook on life and gives people a second chance.
BlueGh0st 6y ago
How? I read so many felon success stories but I'm a non-violent felon and I can't even get an entry-level interview in IT. I'm multiskilled with a huge focus on security but despite the demand, I've had so much trouble. In fact, in one very sad case, I showed up to my first day of work as a sys admin and was walked out after 2 hours because the HR department neglected to go over my application and see the felony checkbox until that day, despite having been hired over a month before!
- 5thaccount 6y ago
  Have you tried doing freelancer stuff? When no one will give you a chance, giving yourself one is probably your best bet. I have no idea how well that would work, but it seems like the only variable you can control.
  - BlueGh0st 6y ago
    I have been able to do just a handful of freelance-gigs outside of my desired field but between bad experiences (payment was 6 months late once) and life kicking me while I'm down, I've just been seeking some stability.
    - poulsbohemian 6y ago
      >(payment was 6 months late once) This never gets enough visibility among freelancers / contractors / consultants - it can be really hard to get paid and for smaller amounts of money it often would take too much in legal fees to actually get paid.
      - Aeolun 6y ago
        Don’t work until payment is made? Offer a discount for early payment? Charge interest on late payments?
        poulsbohemian 6y ago
ry454 6y ago
On paper, I'd be a felon for serious offences on at least 4 episodes. If the law was followed to the letter, and if somebody nosy had enough access and time to inspect the past 15 years of my life, I'd be serving at least two life sentences. The smallest offence is carrying a hunter's knife in my car: that's a 3rd degree felony as I'd discovered recently. In practice, though, if the law was followed to the letter, 90% of males would be serving life right after high school for reasons I probably don't need to explain.
- Meph504 6y ago
  Where do you live that it is a felony to have a hunting knife in your car, and also where felony's have degrees?
  - ry454 6y ago
    Not only felonies have degrees here, they have classes and graduate eventually.
    - selimthegrim 6y ago
      Even predicate ones? (I kid)
- EE84M3i 6y ago
  >for reasons I probably don't need to explain. I'm clueless. What would lead to serving life?
  - abiogenesis 6y ago
    I think they mean that smaller things such as carrying a hunter knife may add up to approximately two life sentences.
    - chasontherobot 6y ago
      maybe, but why would that apply to only males?
ManBlanket 6y ago
I also have a felony on my record and struggled immensely because of a long wrap sheet of misdemeanor crimes that seemed to cascade from that single mistake. My record has caused me to be fired from and denied several jobs, and at my lowest point I was kicked out of an education program despite succeeding otherwise. "None of my charges are violent or sexual. There's no reason to conclude I'd be a danger to children. Look at them. Failure to appear. Disorderly conduct. Criminal mischief..." "It doesn't matter, look how many there are. Parents will find this, you, the school, and our program will be held accountable." Bottom line is people are absolutely horrible to each other if they're given even the slightest pretense. It's just a disgusting facet of our psyche, I guess. Those convicted of a crime are condemned to continued punishment by anybody who cares to look at their record, long after they've repaid any debts. I remember asking a police officer when I was in my early 20's why every time I handed my Id to an officer I was searched, arrested, or charged with something. She replied simply, "Because you have a yellow stripe painted down your back." The fact I had an outstanding warrant for a speeding ticket in another state and doing stupid and illegal things aside, once you have a record it is very hard to escape it. Most are relegated to menial minimum wage jobs. I was lucky, I have a social safety net, confidence, I knew I could get around it. Decided to focus my studies on something so specialized an employer wouldn't try looking for reasons not to hire me. I don't think anybody has actually checked my record since I graduated. The only applications I've been handed were basically a token for HR and I simply mark, "No" under the, "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" question. Because it doesn't matter. It should be illegal for anybody to access resolved criminal records if they don't have a direct reason pertaining to the safety or security of others. It's not your job as an employer or hiring manager to judge someone's mistakes, only their aptitude to perform a job.
- incompatible 6y ago
  I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people in this situation decide, at some point, that if society is going to treat them as a criminal forever, then they may as well make a life out of crime.
- afiori 6y ago
  > It should be illegal for anybody to access resolved criminal records if they don't have a direct reason pertaining to the safety or security of others. > It's not your job as an employer or hiring manager to judge someone's mistakes, only their aptitude to perform a job. I have no horse in this race, so my opinion is mostly out of ignorance, but I believe that this formulation isn't entirely correct. In a sense employers should be allowed to make stupid decisions; the problem is when too many employers make correlated decisions leaving out a innocent chunk of the population.
rubicon33 6y ago
What programming language / domain did you learn?

weka 6y ago

That is great to hear. I am happy for you. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of tech consulting do you do?

anon55555 6y ago
Mostly web dev currently but I've worked in a few different domains.
- weka 6y ago
  Dang. That sounds great. I hope to one day start my own consulting firm.

jph 6y ago

Congratulations! I'm with a YC company that helps formerly-incarcerated people with jobs, and would love to talk with you about what you're doing. Like you, we believe that coding and tech can be a potential way to help rentry. Work email is joel@70millionjobs.com.

comprev 6y ago
70M jobs was just the company I was thinking of. Fantastic positive outlook on life and gives people a second chance.

BlueGh0st 6y ago

How? I read so many felon success stories but I'm a non-violent felon and I can't even get an entry-level interview in IT. I'm multiskilled with a huge focus on security but despite the demand, I've had so much trouble. In fact, in one very sad case, I showed up to my first day of work as a sys admin and was walked out after 2 hours because the HR department neglected to go over my application and see the felony checkbox until that day, despite having been hired over a month before!

5thaccount 6y ago
Have you tried doing freelancer stuff? When no one will give you a chance, giving yourself one is probably your best bet. I have no idea how well that would work, but it seems like the only variable you can control.
- BlueGh0st 6y ago
  I have been able to do just a handful of freelance-gigs outside of my desired field but between bad experiences (payment was 6 months late once) and life kicking me while I'm down, I've just been seeking some stability.
  - poulsbohemian 6y ago
    >(payment was 6 months late once) This never gets enough visibility among freelancers / contractors / consultants - it can be really hard to get paid and for smaller amounts of money it often would take too much in legal fees to actually get paid.
    - Aeolun 6y ago
      Don’t work until payment is made? Offer a discount for early payment? Charge interest on late payments?
      - poulsbohemian 6y ago

ry454 6y ago

On paper, I'd be a felon for serious offences on at least 4 episodes. If the law was followed to the letter, and if somebody nosy had enough access and time to inspect the past 15 years of my life, I'd be serving at least two life sentences. The smallest offence is carrying a hunter's knife in my car: that's a 3rd degree felony as I'd discovered recently. In practice, though, if the law was followed to the letter, 90% of males would be serving life right after high school for reasons I probably don't need to explain.

Meph504 6y ago
Where do you live that it is a felony to have a hunting knife in your car, and also where felony's have degrees?
- ry454 6y ago
  Not only felonies have degrees here, they have classes and graduate eventually.
  - selimthegrim 6y ago
    Even predicate ones? (I kid)
EE84M3i 6y ago
>for reasons I probably don't need to explain. I'm clueless. What would lead to serving life?
- abiogenesis 6y ago
  I think they mean that smaller things such as carrying a hunter knife may add up to approximately two life sentences.
  - chasontherobot 6y ago
    maybe, but why would that apply to only males?

ManBlanket 6y ago

I also have a felony on my record and struggled immensely because of a long wrap sheet of misdemeanor crimes that seemed to cascade from that single mistake. My record has caused me to be fired from and denied several jobs, and at my lowest point I was kicked out of an education program despite succeeding otherwise. "None of my charges are violent or sexual. There's no reason to conclude I'd be a danger to children. Look at them. Failure to appear. Disorderly conduct. Criminal mischief..." "It doesn't matter, look how many there are. Parents will find this, you, the school, and our program will be held accountable." Bottom line is people are absolutely horrible to each other if they're given even the slightest pretense. It's just a disgusting facet of our psyche, I guess. Those convicted of a crime are condemned to continued punishment by anybody who cares to look at their record, long after they've repaid any debts. I remember asking a police officer when I was in my early 20's why every time I handed my Id to an officer I was searched, arrested, or charged with something. She replied simply, "Because you have a yellow stripe painted down your back." The fact I had an outstanding warrant for a speeding ticket in another state and doing stupid and illegal things aside, once you have a record it is very hard to escape it. Most are relegated to menial minimum wage jobs. I was lucky, I have a social safety net, confidence, I knew I could get around it. Decided to focus my studies on something so specialized an employer wouldn't try looking for reasons not to hire me. I don't think anybody has actually checked my record since I graduated. The only applications I've been handed were basically a token for HR and I simply mark, "No" under the, "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" question. Because it doesn't matter. It should be illegal for anybody to access resolved criminal records if they don't have a direct reason pertaining to the safety or security of others. It's not your job as an employer or hiring manager to judge someone's mistakes, only their aptitude to perform a job.

incompatible 6y ago
I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people in this situation decide, at some point, that if society is going to treat them as a criminal forever, then they may as well make a life out of crime.
afiori 6y ago
> It should be illegal for anybody to access resolved criminal records if they don't have a direct reason pertaining to the safety or security of others. > It's not your job as an employer or hiring manager to judge someone's mistakes, only their aptitude to perform a job. I have no horse in this race, so my opinion is mostly out of ignorance, but I believe that this formulation isn't entirely correct. In a sense employers should be allowed to make stupid decisions; the problem is when too many employers make correlated decisions leaving out a innocent chunk of the population.

rubicon33 6y ago

What programming language / domain did you learn?