Everything you wanted to know about security clearance IT jobs (including sponsoring) but were afraid to ask…
What does the commonality of cops, security personnel, and system engineers? All of these jobs require security clearance. Network engineers, software architects, coders, and even coders all require security clearances.
You might be surprised at the number of IT jobs that require you to have clearance. It’s often not the job, but the organization that hired you for it. For example, database administrators working for the military will need clearance. Private companies may not require clearance for database administrators. Many government agencies are extremely paranoid about national security and require clearance before you can even take a seat at an IT desk.
Clearance is a requirement for more IT roles than ever before. Nine percent of all job postings require clearance, and fifty percent of these jobs are in the digital technology sector. While it is becoming more common for organizations to require clearance before a candidate can apply for a role, it is not clear how many applicants have this requirement.
We spoke with Dereck Watters, a senior cybersecurity engineer, as part of our Meet the Mentor webinar series. He provided valuable insight into the world of security clearance.
This guide will help you discover the following:
Clearance: What jobs require clearance. The four levels of clearance. How to get your clearance sponsored. Other insights from cybersecurity expert Dereckwatters.
You can’t pay for a security clearance. Or you can study for it. It takes hard work to earn it. It is a badge of honor. It is a medal that shows you are capable of protecting classified information. You are a true “keeper of secrets”. You won’t snitch no matter what.
There is a shortage of people with the technical skills to perform a job that requires clearance. Watters says that once you get clearance, you will be able to work anywhere you want.
He says, “You’re almost guaranteed a job.” “Put your resume onto Indeed and a thousand people will call you.”
Employers are willing to pay big because there is a limited pool of job applicants with the required clearance.
“Once you have that under your name, you are pretty much guaranteed a job from the Department of Defense, the Navy, or the Air Force.”
The federal government considers clearance a prerequisite for most jobs related to national security. Many government agencies have been hacked in recent years. Data breaches like those at the Office of Personnel Management and Department of Energy have become commonplace. Candidates now need to have the right security credentials to protect the country’s most important secrets.
It is important to remember that the