When I worked at Sandia, most of us were hired without any clearance but with the expectation that we would get one soon. It is not difficult to get a Q cleara

When I worked at Sandia, most of us were hired without any clearance but with the expectation that we would get one soon. It is not difficult to get a Q clearance, just annoying. You have to fill out a massive document listing everywhere you've lived in the last 10 years (a real hassle for a recent grad) and give all sorts of info about people you know. They will drive out and interview people. There was plenty of work that did not require a clearance, but so much of the sites are cleared-only that it just makes your life easier to have it. edit: oh yeah good point made in the dead comment below, if you've smoked weed in the last 7 (? something like that) years you're gonna have to tell them. Even if it was legal in the state where you did it. I've heard it's not a deal-killer these days, but they want to know and you will have to stop using it. There are not a ton of ways to lose your job at a National Lab but failing a drug test is one. Do not toy around with it.