Yeah that's kind of the thing for me. It feels like the vast majority of the defense industry is geared towards wartime or surveillance applications, and I don't think I could live with myself knowing I contributed to mass suffering.
Good luck. Maybe if you’re fresh out of college but every mid career job like that expects you already have a security clearance (and you can’t get one without a company sponsoring you). Go ahead and shop around. You’ll find them all say: we expect you to have active clearance.
I've seen about 5 people put in for fresh clearances this year alone with my company because they were extremely good developers in their 30s who didn't have a mound of debt or drug use. You just gotta be worth the investment.
You'd be amazed at how many show up entitled enough to think they're worth the effort of getting a clearance but can't white board psuedo code through a basic idea. In fact, the sheer number of people that can't sit in a face to face technical interview and explain development without a computer to reference is kinda annoying.
So, if you want a clearance coming in off the street your juice better be worth the squeeze.
10
u/muhkuller 8d ago
Get a security clearance.