Having a security clearance can increase your job options and make you a more sought-after employee. An individual is not authorized to obtain a clearance on their own. They must be sponsored by the government or a cleared contracting company. Many employers would prefer to hire a candidate that already has a security clearance, as going through the process can cost up to $15,000, but many still hire qualified candidates and sponsor them to obtain a clearance. In order to qualify for a security clearance, the recipient must be a U.S. citizen and of good character, mental health, and financial standing at a minimum. These are appealing traits to any employer. It suggests a certain level of stability and reliability in the candidate.
You are only sponsored for a clearance if your job duties require you to access classified information. If, at any point that requirement stops, your clearance will no longer be sponsored. As long as you gain sponsorship again within two years, your clearance is reactivated. If your lapse continues outside of the 2-year window, it is treated as a new investigation.
Having a security clearance can increase a worker’s salary, in some cases, drastically. Two workers in the same job title, and same years of experience, and the same educational background could see as much as a 20,000-dollar gap in salary going towards the cleared employee. This makes obtaining a security clearance worth enduring the often long and intrusive process.
CONFIDENTIAL
This clearance level is issued to personnel that need to access material, which, if improperly disclosed, could be reasonably expected to cause some measurable damage to national security. The vast majority of military personnel are given this fundamental level of clearance. An employee with a CONFIDENTIAL level clearance needs to be reinvestigated every fifteen years.
SECRET
This clearance level is issued to personnel that need to access material, which, if improperly disclosed, could be expected to cause serious damage to national security. An employee with a SECRET level clearance is reinvestigated every ten years.
TOP SECRET
This clearance level is issued to personnel that need to access material, which, if improperly disclosed, could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security if it was released without authorization. An employee with a TOP SECRET level clearance is reinvestigated every 5 years.
Some government positions require an increased level of sensitivity, but not a security clearance. These are public trust positions. The investigation for public trust positions is similar to the clearance levels listed. It is often misrepresented as the fourth type of clearance; however, it is not considered a clearance, just an investigation type. If you have worked on a public trust position before, that could have you viewed as a “clearable” candidate, meaning you could obtain on of the clearance levels listed.
Obtaining a clearance is a three-step process. The three-step to obtain a clearance are as follows:
InitiateInvestigateAdjudicate
Initiate
After you apply and interview for a job requiring a security clearance, the Facility Security Officer (FSO) of the contracting company starts the process. They send a request for an investigation through the Joint Personnel Adjudication System (JPAS). After this request is submitted, you are required to fill out questionnaire forms called the SF86. At times this may be a set of physical paper hardcopies that you fill out by hand, but often you use an electronic system called e-QIP, Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing. It is identical to the paper copies but using the e-QIP system sends your completed application to the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO) for review then they forward the electronic submission to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Some of the information you are required to provide includes:
- Previous residences, employment history, military service, education, marital status, relatives, and associates
- Any issues relating to mental health, criminal activity, drug/alcohol use, credit, and allegiance to the United States
- People who know you and can verify the information you provide
Once OPM receives the information from your DISCO approved e-QIP forms, they are responsible for conducting the investigation.
Investigate
The investigation is performed by the Defense Security Service (DSS). Officials interview individuals who know you to verify the information provided about your background. Some of the individuals who are subject to interview include:
- Friends and associates
- Employers and coworkers
- Neighbors and landlords
- Teachers and classmates
- Law enforcement officials
- Former spouses
- Other sources as needed
The DSS investigator is looking to determine your loyalty to the United States, your reliability, your honesty, and overall conduct. The answers you submit on the SF86 must be truthful. If during the investigation, the officer discovers some discrepancies, these can delay the process. The officer would need to re-verify information with you
Once the investigation is complete, OPM sends the findings to DISCO. Then the clearance is granted, or the results are sent to the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA).
The time it takes for an investigation varies. It varies based on the clearance level and the current backlog of pending investigations. Of course, a Confidential clearance level investigation takes less time than a Top Secret one. The backlog varies from month to month. The current wait time for a completed investigation, particularly for a Top Secret, from initiation to adjudication, is around a year.
Adjudicate
If you’re approved, then that means your clearance is adjudicated. The customer agency that issued the work requirements and contracting company’s FSO receive notification that your clearance is finalized and approved. After the adjudication is complete, you are ready to work on your assigned project.
You maintain your clearance for the number of years tied to your clearance level:
Confidential – 15 years
Secret – 10 years
Top Secret – 5 years
At the end of this time you go through a Periodic Reinvestigation (PR). You fill out the SF86 again. If you initially did your paperwork in e-QIP many of your previous responses are stored, saving you some time. You can also be chosen for random investigation earlier than your set time. This is especially true if you trigger any potential red flags. This could include large incurrence of debt, odd or erratic spending, any arrest, or other potentially suspicious or alarming events. So, it’s crucial to maintain good credit, reduced debt, and avoid any illegal activity or arrests. Maintaining your clearance is essential. When companies bid for government contracts, having employees who are already cleared can make them more attractive. The wait time for clearing an individual can be extensive. If the government needs to complete a project quickly, they would prefer a company that could get started promptly as well. Maintaining your clearance is beneficial to you as well as your company.
If you decide to leave the company you currently work for, your clearance can move with you is you take a position that also requires the same clearance level you had before, or a lower level clearance. Meaning, if you have a Top-Secret clearance and decide to take a job that only requires a Secret clearance, you maintain your clearance at least at a Secret level while on your new position. If possible, companies try to maintain your Top-Secret level because the higher the clearance level, the more beneficial. So, you want to try to maintain your highest clearance level. One the other hand, if you have a Secret level clearance and apply for a position that requires a Top Secret because you have a clearance, a company may still hire you and put you through the process of upgrading to the higher level. This can be less time consuming than hiring someone with no clearance at all.
Clearances are valuable. Treat them as such.
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