4 ms·
Yes, and the "total compensation" is no longer good either. "The pay sucks but you get great benefits" meme is no longer true of most state/federal government
by paulmd 6y ago
Yes, and the "total compensation" is no longer good either. "The pay sucks but you get great benefits" meme is no longer true of most state/federal government jobs, those benefits have been drastically shaved down over the last 30 years.
The other major recruiting problem is marijuana prohibition. Government has a lot of problems retaining high-skill IT people because a huge number of computer-touchers smoke. iirc FBI has commented on their inability to hire good technical staff because they can't find anyone who doesn't smoke.
And it's not just a question of willingness to smoke or not going forward, for most public-trust positions you're going to have to abstain for at least a year before even applying.
What are you willing to give up for a job offer that you might not even get? For computer-touchers with lots of other options, that answer is "not much". And federal jobs are basically low-paying, highly-competitive, and high-bureaucracy, when you could be making bank and having a reasonably satisfying work experience in the private sector.
And thus you filter out a huge number of the exact people you're trying to hire - young techies who are familiar with modern IT and development practices.
- jolux 6y agoIn particular you can't get any kind of security clearance if you have any history of cannabis usage, as far as I know. I wanted to enlist in the military a few years ago but unfortunately my history with weed means I'm more or less excluded, I think.
- PopeDotNinja 6y agoDid you actually try applying? I think they are looking for candidness and some distance between you & the chronic. If you say you used to smoke, but quit two years ago and don’t miss it at all, that’s different than wearing a 420BlazeIt t-shirt to the interview and saying you haven’t smoked in almost an hour.
- jolux 6y agoI haven't tried applying, no. I did some research into it and it seemed dicey. I also have friends with clearance who say it's a complete tossup depending on who you talk to.
- PopeDotNinja 6y agoIf you had a 50/50 chance, would you go for it? I guess your answer shows how much you really want it. No shame I’m not wanting it THAT bad.
- jolux 6y agoIt seemed less than 50/50 from discussing it with friends. I don’t know, maybe it’s still worth a shot.
- paulmd 6y agoMy understanding is those are the rules for automatic approval of a clearance and if you respond with drug use then you will be initially denied and then they will take a look at your specific circumstance. Marijuana usage is so pervasive that they basically can't exclude anyone who's ever used it, instead they want to see that it's been at least a year (preferably more) since you've used it and you will probably get approved. "Harder" drugs they are more strict on. If you just smoked pot in college no worries, you'll be fine.