5 ms·

For myself it's somewhat ethical, and somewhat practical: there's no way I'd get cleared anyway, due to my history of hard drug addiction in my teens and early

by girvo 2y ago

For myself it's somewhat ethical, and somewhat practical: there's no way I'd get cleared anyway, due to my history of hard drug addiction in my teens and early 20s. Despite being sober for... gosh, over a decade now, it's a moot point in that process.

upfrog 2y ago
Don't assume that your history would be an immediate dealbreaker. With enough time, they are happy to ignore a lot of that stuff. Just be honest. Of course, if you don't believe in any of the causes you might need a clearance for, it doesn't matter, but don't be too quick to make that assumption either. A lot of stuff gets classified by the government, and not all of it is morally noisome.
dgacmu 2y ago
You might be surprised. I have some friends who did a lot of drugs at one point or another in their life and ended up later holding a clearance. Addiction might be different, but I wouldn't let your past deter you from looking if there was an opportunity you really liked. The clearance process looks more at if you have a problem that can be exploited. (Now, that said, holding a clearance can be a pain for other reasons already detailed in this thread. A lifetime ban on talking about some things can be an annoying cognitive burden to carry, also.)
CamperBob2 2y ago
They don't really care about the drug use, as much as they care whether you're honest about it. If you tell them one thing but they hear something else when they interview your family and friends, that's a major issue. What they want to see, above all else, is someone who can't be easily blackmailed. (Which is one reason why homosexuality was a dealbreaker as late as the 1970s.)
- girvo 2y ago
  > They don't really care about the drug use Unfortunately, that's not what I was directly told when I inquired, at least for the jobs here in Aus. Perhaps they were just being conservative about it

by girvo 2y ago

upfrog 2y ago

Don't assume that your history would be an immediate dealbreaker. With enough time, they are happy to ignore a lot of that stuff. Just be honest. Of course, if you don't believe in any of the causes you might need a clearance for, it doesn't matter, but don't be too quick to make that assumption either. A lot of stuff gets classified by the government, and not all of it is morally noisome.

dgacmu 2y ago

You might be surprised. I have some friends who did a lot of drugs at one point or another in their life and ended up later holding a clearance. Addiction might be different, but I wouldn't let your past deter you from looking if there was an opportunity you really liked. The clearance process looks more at if you have a problem that can be exploited. (Now, that said, holding a clearance can be a pain for other reasons already detailed in this thread. A lifetime ban on talking about some things can be an annoying cognitive burden to carry, also.)

CamperBob2 2y ago

They don't really care about the drug use, as much as they care whether you're honest about it. If you tell them one thing but they hear something else when they interview your family and friends, that's a major issue. What they want to see, above all else, is someone who can't be easily blackmailed. (Which is one reason why homosexuality was a dealbreaker as late as the 1970s.)

girvo 2y ago
> They don't really care about the drug use Unfortunately, that's not what I was directly told when I inquired, at least for the jobs here in Aus. Perhaps they were just being conservative about it