Questions about: Re: [BBLISA] Security Clearance job inquiry

[Bede B. McCall]

   Date: Tue, 07 Dec 2004 15:07:27 -0500
   From: "R. Gary Cutbill" <rgary at kluge.net>

   [...]

   OK, I've watched enough of the messages about this go by that I can
   no longer hold back my curiosity.   If I'm prying it's fair if you
   want to tell me to mind by own business.

   Why is this important to you to get a job that requires a security
   clearance?

   [...]

I can't speak for Mr. Ehrlich, of course, but an incentive for some
people is that some companies (obviously those with military and/or
spook contracts) pay a signing bonus for new employees with clearances
and/or pay a bonus to employees who have clearances.  The bonus
generally rises with the level of the clearance and, if you believe
the scuttlebutt, it can be very generous at the high end of the scale.

So I guess you could view "TOP SECRET" as kind of like an engineering
degree, a "CISSP", "CCNE", "MCSE", "A+", etc. -- i.e., as an income
enhancer.  A huge difference is that you need to get into a job that
requires a clearance before you can be considered for a clearance (you
can't just apply for a clearance like a driver's license, and a
clearance is utterly meaningless in isolation).


--Bede McCall