(mthreat here, on my not banned HN account) The OP said he's on probation. The most important thing is to complete the probation successfully (i.e., don't vio

(mthreat here, on my not banned HN account) The OP said he's on probation. The most important thing is to complete the probation successfully (i.e., don't violate it and go to jail). Once he's finished probation, he may be able to get it removed from his record, or probation may not count as a "conviction" at all. I'm not sure how it works in Florida, but he should ask his lawyer about it. Never assume it's stuck on your (OP's) record forever. That said, even with a conviction for the kind of crime you describe, it shouldn't hold him back. My conviction did keep me from working at places like IBM (I was actually hired, but then unhired when they found out I had a conviction). So I went to work with startups, worked with really cool & smart people, and made about 100 times as much money as I would have made at IBM. Even if your record keeps you from 20% of the jobs, that leaves 80%.