The work slowdown for contract investigators shows no signs of abating. Any ideas for temporary/part-time jobs that require secret or TS to help make ends meet? I understand that applying for a cleared job is more involved than driving Uber.
If I am hired to work as, say a security escort at a secure facility (a job that requires a clearance but not really much else in the way of qualifications) for company B, does my clearance need to be transferred away from company A, my current company I contract for doing OPM investigations? I don’t want to leave company A, it’s been a good job overall, but the current slowdown is creating an income gap that needs to be filled. Can company B see my TS clearance in JPAS and just put me to work? Thanks in advance for the wisdom.
I think for Contract Investigators, it’s not a fully adjudicated TS. I think its favorably adjudicated up to a TS. The slow work is odd…I don’t think the work will ever come back.
Can you explain the difference between “favorably adjudicated up to a TS” versus “a fully adjudicated TS?” I have never heard the phrase “favorably adjudicated up to a TS.”
Looking at a copy of my own package here (folks, everyone should FOI a copy of their BI) it was an SSBI case. In the agency use block it says “access: top-secret.”
Nothing about adjudication is shown, but again the phrase “favorably adjudicated up to a TS” is unfamiliar to me and honestly doesn’t make any sense. Perhaps an adjudicator or someone knowledgeable about that aspect can chime in.
In general, you are adjudicated to a TS. You may not have any access to classified information. You have the adjudication to the TS because you occupy a high risk, sensitive position.
You are cleared for TS, if needed, but you are not read into any programs. On a resume, you can safely list that you were adjudicated for a TS through a completed SSBI.
Here is another way to explain this concept. You might be trained and licensed to drive the OPM 18 wheeler (big rig) for your job, but OPM only needs you to drive the delivery van. You are still eligible to operate the OPM big rig, and might need some additional training for currency, but you don’t need the keys to the OPM big rig today. If you were hired to drive someone else’s big rig, let’s say, FBI’s big rig, they might accept your original big rig experience, but want to check out your credentials themselves. You were still licensed to drive OPM big rig, and the government is okay in general with you driving their big rigs - but the FBI wants to re-qualify you before allowing you to drive their particular big rigs.
Just trying to simply something that people keep wanting to complicate.
I work for FEMA as a reservist. There’s plenty of openings as fema reservists in different cadres. You already have a TS clearance and they only require public trust. You can deploy for 30 days or 11 months depending on the cadre, disaster, and you. You can Message me and I will direct you in the right direction if your interested.
Sure. Your BI is like your credit report: It’s a document about you, written by someone else, that other people use to make very important decisions about you. It is in your interest to verify that it is accurate, just like it is in your interest to pull your credit reports annually. If your credit report contains inaccurate or false information, no one else is going to catch those mistakes - that’s your job. The credit bureaus think your reports are fine and will take no action unless you make some noise.
Same with your BI. OPM is satisfied that your report is complete and accurate. Only you are in a position to find mistakes and correct them.
My own BI was straightforward, no significant issues. My investigator was professional and thorough and complete. No complaints. I didn’t find any problems in the copy of the investigation that I FOI’d. But enough people have complicated cases that surely some errors creep in there.
In addition it’s interesting to read what other people say about you. The old boss who (sniff!) barely remembered me. The neighbor who said nothing but nice things even though I took a month to finish a job on my house with his pressure washer. (I gave him a six-pack when I returned the washer.) And so on. Also, if someone had said something dimly derogatory about me - let’s say an old boss alleged I had a temper problem - that’s a good FYI for me to work on and mitigate with current and future employers.
Follow-up question. As noted above I am a contract DCSA investigator for one of the big companies. Work is getting light. I am “TS eligible” as noted above as well. I am interested in a job that requires an active DOD issued Secret clearance, or a Secret clearance which has been inactive less than 24 months.
Two questions:
Do I fit the bill here? Does being “TS eligible” qualify me for having a secret clearance also?
If not, is it just a matter of someone pushing some buttons on a computer, or would I have to go through a fresh investigation?
Assuming my “TS eligible” status qualifies for me for this secret job, and I take it, does that tamper with or damage by TS eligibility? Am I downgrading myself? I would like to continue as a IC for the DCSA contracting company I am working for now. It’s a good gig. But I’d like to perhaps dial back the DCSA work as I ramp up with the new job, were I even to get it.
Your clearance will transfer to another facility it’s just a couple computer buttons in JPAS. Look for personnel security, facility security officer or alternate, contracts admin, project admin, vig companies such as L3Harris, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin
Thanks for the quick reply. And my apologies if I’m being obtuse. But: When you say my clearance will transfer to another facility, does that jeopardize my current employment - er, excuse me, by “business partnership” with the big company that does DCSA BIs? I want to keep doing that work, for which I have TS eligibility, but also branch into this other job, which requires a secret clearance.
I don’t hear of many people who have two separate jobs that require security clearances, but I assume they are out there - for example, a reservist who does TS work at his day job but also requires a clearance for his military billet on the weekends.
A facility that does work for the DOD or DoS or other entity that pertains to classified work of any type will have an FCL, facility clearance license. It’s usually a 5 character code such as 3zNJ2. That’s an actual cage code from a company I was a FSO at years ago. That cage code will have a personal management system through a program called JPAS, joint personnel adjudication system. That allows your clearance to be added to the cage. So if you work for CACI today, they have your clearance assigned to their cage. But you could also do part time consulting for Boeing, they would also have your clearance and if you have a TS at one you can be activated at S level at another.
Following up on the TS eligibility but not actually active clearance question… I have interviewed/applied to a number of positions that require a clearance to already be active as opposed to just having the eligibility. The hiring authorities at a number of these places make it sound that it is too much of a hassle to get the eligibility turned into an active clearance. Just how big of a process is it to go from eligible (favorable determination) to active?
In my experience if you’re preadjudicated for any clearance it could still take 3 to 6 months to get final adjudication. It was rare I saw a preadjudicated clearance not meet final clearance but if you’re currently preadjudicated and decide to change jobs I wouldn’t be putting any two week notice leaving the company currently employed with because once they cancel the investigation you will have to start over. A new company or employer cannot initiate a clearance while an existing clearance investigation is processing. If you can stick it out until final adjudication comes through it will be worth your while.
I went back and read my e-mail from the company when I was invited to training. It says:
“As of today your clearance with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is at a final favorable status, which means OPM is finished with your investigation.”
So “final favorable” still means it could take three to six months for final adjudication? Again, not being argumentative, just trying to figure out the process.
From what a senior security manager at one of the BI vendors told me…OPM/NBIB never adjudicated the majority of the investigator’s backgrounds as they felt that most investigators would not be accessing classified information. They simply left it at “favorable status” or “favorable determination.”
Is it possible you misunderstood or he/she misspoke? Vendors don’t grant TS, but BI’s are adjudicated. I received notice from OPM/NBIB before I started that stated, “received a final favorable adjudication … for work on the contract based on a completed T5 that closed on [date].”