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Ask Slashdot: Can a Felon Work In IT?
First time accepted submitter Lesrahpem writes I'm a felon with several prior misdemeanor convictions from an immature time in my life. I've since cleaned up my act, and I want to go back into the IT sector. I keep running into potential employers who tell me they'd like to hire me but can't because of my past record (expunging won't work, I'm in Ohio). Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Should I just give up and change careers?"
...and home of the lifetime sentence for nearly every crime. Best of luck to you.
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Sorry, I'm only a 1336 h4x0r.
If you are talented at what you do- why not consider moving someplace else where this is either not a problem or they can't check? There are plenty of places in the world that you could make a rewarding contribution to something while being fairly compensated for your work. I can't imagine that in any other field that could be potentially lucrative, or provide enough compensation to support a family on they would be willing to overlook the felony convictions. I would imagine you are probably locked out of most of the economy where you are. Permanently. I would consider seriously moving.
Seek federal jobs which offer a clearance. If you admit to everything thoroughly and give the investigators the truth, and if they're not worried about you after all of that (they think the risk of recidivism is low), you'll get the job and you can say on your resume you were cleared for federal work.
Whenever you decide to leave, the fact that you had a clearance might actually help counteract your priors.
Viable Slashdot alternatives: https://pipedot.org/ and http://soylentnews.org/
I've hired people with misdemeanors before.
Be honest about the crime, don't have it be a surprise that I find out during the background check part of the hiring process.
I also know other managers who've done the same. Its tough to find good people. A drug offense 5 yrs ago, with proof of a completed drug treatment program for instance isn't going to stop me from hiring a good IT worker.
Min
On the whole, I find that I prefer Slashdot posts to twitter ones because I don't get limited to 140 chars before
unfortunately i'm not speaking from experience, just spitballing ideas.
best of luck to you!
I'm a little confused by the phrasing. Being a felon is a roadblock to a career. Having misdemeanor convictions probably isn't. If you're a felon, why even bother mentioning that you've had misdemeanor convictions?
Slashdot: providing anti-social weirdos a soapbox, since 1997.
You openly admit it and eventually run for Governor of Illinois.
It may take a few tries, but a lot of places don't do background checks, and some that do won't care too much.
I know a guy who several felony, recidivism, his mug shut come up as the first hit on google if you google him... and he was able to get a job in a few weeks.
I managed a contractor that never would have been hired by my or most engineering companies due to a criminal history and being a registered sex offender. He worked for a company that otherwise is H1B and Green Cards from India. I know he got paid quite a bit less than if he worked for my company, but he at least got in the door after his prison term. If you are skilled, one of these companies may take a flier on you.
This is absolutely not true. Any respectable broker will thoroughly vet their contractors.
it's = "it is"; its = possessive. E.g., it's flapping its wings.
Hi,
It would be a long road, but eventually pay off for you. You could start freelancing on Odesk or through some other method until you built up enough of a client list that could support you. The pay would not be that great, but consider doing it part time until you have your foot in the door. In all the time I have been freelancing, not once have I had a background check.
It does suck in our society that even though you have "paid" for your punishment, you are basically labeled for life. We all wish we could tell our younger selves that these choices would impact us for the rest of our lives. But all we can do is move forward. I think your path will be with many challenges, but I believe working for yourself is probably one of your best options. You just need discipline and a tremendous amount of patience because you will have many pointy haired bosses.
I keep running into potential employers who tell me they'd like to hire me but can't because of my past record (expunging won't work, I'm in Ohio). Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Should I just give up and change careers?
Sadly that problem will not be confined to IT. Even if you try to change careers a felony record is going to follow you and (right or wrong) there aren't a lot of employers who are going to be willing to take a chance on an ex-con. Companies just generally do not want to take on avoidable known risks and a felony makes a job candidate into an avoidable known risk.
Your best chance is probably through personal networking but it's going to be tough. The good news is that there are companies that will work with people with troubled pasts but finding them usually takes a lot of work. If your skill set is in IT and your convictions aren't for things related to IT then I see no particular reason to switch because the same problem will exist regardless of what type of job you seek.
Drugs you can show completion of a program, swear you've been clean for two years, have testimonials from your preacher, rabbi and yoga instructor.
Theft is tougher and would probably be a bar for any financial company (except apparently at the top executive levels). Might be better to lie or not check either "Do you have a criminal record" checkbox and hope they don't do the background check.
Violent crime, property damage stuff you can just give your side and claim that it was a minor offense and the other party was out to get you. Doesn't look good if you have multiple offenses, though.
hello and welcome to my life.
it's well documented here on /. that i struggle with this same issue, and have for over a decade.
i wish i had good news for you, but i don't. it's going to be hard for you for find "regular" employment.
my advice? try to find a small company where you can get hired without a lot of fanfare. finding and owner/ceo who does the hiring, or a contracting company where they have no real interest in caring about your background because it will cost them money if they don't place you, is pretty much the only way i've been able to get back into a stable, well-paying job.
pretty much anyplace with a fulltime HR department will discover your transgressions and gleefully report to the hiring manager that they "gotcha" and are doing a really great job keeping reprobates like us away from their "sanitary" workplace.
i've started my own small consulting company and have found that it's fairly easy to work from home (im a software guy) doing the code monkey thing...it beats digging ditches that's for sure. i advertise back-end/full-stack web development/server management on craigslist and it works.
good luck...you are going to need some.
never bring a twinkie to a food fight.
You really have very few choices. There are employers out there who actually seek out people with priors, but for the most part you're going to be frustrated in your attempts to land a job.
Your best bet is to start your own business, for example web design or outsourced PC network maintenance. There are lots of people making a good living as free lancers.
Once you have gotten established, which admittedly may take a couple of years of networking and marketing efforts, you may not wish to be an employee again anyway. You can set your own hours, choose your own customers, and take full charge of your life. It's not easy, and requires more skills than just showing up and doing a specific task from 9 to 5, but much more fulfilling in the long run, and few will run background checks.
You're still going to have trouble getting loans; just work hard and build up equity, and the rest will follow. Best of luck.
it's = "it is"; its = possessive. E.g., it's flapping its wings.
If they are misdemeanors, no problem. Just be honest. Also check your state law, even though they may ask if you've EVER been convicted, records may be unavailable after a certain number of years and the law may allow you to check the "no" box.
If they are felonies, it makes it harder to get hired, but not at all impossible. You'll just need to submit more resumes than you otherwise would. Maybe take a class on resume writing and interviewing, to balance a weakness with some strengths.
Starting your own business may well be an option- but only if you want to run a business. Running an IT related business is a completely different monster from working as an IT employee.
I'm actually looking to hire someone with an IT background right now, for a commission based sales and marketing position. It could earn good money, or not, depending on if you make the sales. Perhaps someone in your position would be interested in giving it a shot.
I understand your situation. I don't know how long ago the felonies are for you but it sounds like they might be a while ago. I am in North Carolina and expungement won't work for me either. I had to go into restaurant work (serving, bartending, then became managers at independently owned restaurants that I was completely honest with when applying for a manager position. Corporate restaurants and companies frown on this and it won't work without executive and HR approval. I have a degree from a good college, about ten years work experience doing everything including IT support, networking, database and systems programming, and management positions and I still could not get an IT job. It has been five years since I committed my felonies (acting stupid one time in your life can cost you everything so a word to the wise, think before you act and if you're too drunk, it's probably not wise to act at all) and if I go to an interview they say everything is great until I tell them about my background. I have been doing some consulting work on the side, helping local businesses out with their computer work and helping fix as many people's computers as I can and doing websites for businesses (it's not what you know, it's who you know). It helps keep me sharp. Recently I have been able to attain a developer position from an independently owned company and am their head developer now through a connection I made doing websites. Also, one of the companies I used to do security with (and they are a medium sized company) is trying to find a way to hire me back as a Systems Engineer but I am waiting to hear back from their lawyers and executives, but this is only because I've worked there before and done well and the president and vice president of the company would like to have me back. You can't imagine how surprised I was to get that phone call after five years of nothing. Realistically, I don't think it will work yet, but I am still hoping. So basically, try for smaller businesses, startups, and in the worst case scenario, start your own business. If is your passion and you keep trying, something will happen. If you need money to live and eat like I did, you will probably have to resort to another field temporarily. But do your best and things will happen. I have extra work maintaining and programming POS systems for restaurants and that field needs some good IT people in it, trust me. If you want to try starting something up yourself, let me know and I will be glad to help with what I can. Be honest with employers, but telling them everything right from the beginning may not always be the best bet, but let your judgement and the other person's personality determine that. Best of luck!
As a hiring-manager for IT roles, I'd totally hire someone with a felony from their past. As long as they were upfront about it, and it wasn't a "background check surprise" and they showed real talent and openness. The biggest unfair downside, is that you kind of have to open up about it and share more about your life than you'd probably want to with the hiring manager if you didn't have any previous convictions. That is, you'd have to provide a context for understanding the crime that would make me feel comfortable that I wasn't putting the company at risk by brining you in. I think it's fairly easy, to be honest. Just explain the circumstances, your background, and what you want to do with your life, etc.
Don't get discouraged! It's definitely something that will stick with you, but I think IT is a great career for earnings / long term potential and while managers have to be security conscious, an *honest* employee who open shares their past dishonest mistakes is a rare treat.
The employee who applies and is honest about a past conviction is NOT going to the the person who ends up ripping you off. It'll be someone with no priors.
A felony can only delay a security clearance because the only relevance a felony has to a security clearance is whether it shows a fundamental character issue making one insufficiently trustworthy. That's fundamentally what they want to find out in a background investigation. Can we trust you? That's why a guy who's 40 with a felony charge for selling drugs but can show he's been a cleaned up citizen for 15 years can probably get a clearance but a guy with no criminal past who's had an affair on his wife or two in the recent past cannot hold one.
Yes it's possible! I myself am a felon and I am making great money in a senior position at a wonderful company.
That being said, you have a tough road ahead of you. You're not going to have any luck with HR departments or large companies in general. Policy is Policy and that's that. Don't even bother. Look for smaller companies or even bootstrap startups where your particular set of skills would be in high demand.
Don't have a particular set of skills? Stop right now. Teach yourself something you'd really love to do and will be very good at. In order for your criminal record to be overlooked you have to be *great*(not just good) at what you do, and have to be able to prove it. Work with an established Open Source project. Start a blog with useful information and tips about what you're working on. Get on Freenode IRC and answer people's questions. Excel in your field and make people notice.
If you get to this point you'll find that you'll know a few people working for established and relaxed companies. You should have little trouble finding work, though you may have to start as an independant contractor.
It's a heck of a climb with an anchor around your neck, but if you genuinely love what you do it's quite worth it.
Because some countries actually aim to rehabilitate, rather than just punish.
Like all employment problems, with this one, some companies will not hire you but other companies will. You don't need to work for every company, you only need to find one.
Different companies have different ideas. I got rejected by four different companies last time I was looking for a job, then I found a sweet gig. No big deal. One company even told me, "you have natural talent, but lack experience." I don't even know what that means, if anyone ever looked at the early code I wrote, they would NOT say I have natural talent.
My point is, to play the numbers game. If you get in an interview, they ask about your felony and don't hire you because of it, then move on to the next company. No big deal.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
This is absolutely not true. Any respectable broker will thoroughly vet their contractors.
This might be true but most of the people I know who freelance/consult don't use a broker.
If you're good, it's pretty easy to pick up jobs on craigslist, vworker, walking around town, etc..
and the more jobs you pick up, the more your name gets around.
I couldn't care less about someone just "being fellon", when we (in most "modern" countries) have law system that criminalizes almost anything, even using drugs or other things that do not harm anyone and should not be anyone's business.
Would care if you would do anything bad if it was serious, e.g. beaten up someone (not in defence), or commitet a robbery.
Liekly quite some busines owners think in same way.
Of course if you would for example steal empoloyeer secrets previously, it does not look good.
Who keeps spreading this bullshit?
A criminal record is a surefire deal-breaker for any kind of security related job.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
OP said: "I'm a felon with several prior misdemeanor convictions".
Don't you mean a felon with prior felony convictions? As far as I understand (please do correct me if I'm wrong) you cannot be treated as a felon for misdemeanor offenses, no matter how numerous.
Also, I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt that the statement was just clumsily phrased but even so, the wording ought to be fixed to be crystal clear.
Look for jobs in areas which do not overlap the felony. E.g. if the felony was fraud or embezzlement, stay away from financials. And forget systems administration or network administration, too much access to passwords. You may need to start out doing some sort of tech support, but it does pay the rent while you acquire some references and experience.
Then try some volunteer work, the real kind not the 'I'm doing it because the judge told me to' kind. My favorite example maintaining we pages is the no kill animal shelter. You need good references and this is a way to get it.
Also look at smaller companies. They often evaluate people more at the interview level than some HR drone looking at resumes.
Finally, don't give up.
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Lying about a conviction is in most places a felony. So let's just compound one felony with another. Besides it opens up the poster to blackmail.
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Don't be daft. They just won't say it was because of the criminal record but they still won't hire him.
As a convicted felon he want's to know how to get hired in the real world.
He could offer to work as an independent contractor. They can do a background check on his LLC and nothing will turn up.
Or he could offer to post a bond to protect the company to show good faith.
It will still be a rough hike. Compared to prison though it should be pretty easy.
The misdemeanor convictions likely won't hurt your career, but depending on the nature of the felony you might have a hard time. For example, I've seen a felon with a computer fraud and abuse conviction get all kinds of great job offers. Conversely, at my company we tried to hire someone who had been convicted of murder and served his time, figuring he'd paid his debt to society and that this was now irrelevant, but our hiring decision was overruled by the legal department. Finally, there may be specific felony convictions that prohibit certain job functions. E.g., if you've been convicted of any kind of embezzlement, you may be barred from jobs that involve managing government grants. Sex crimes obviously carry a huge stigma. And though the drug laws are a bit out of control, I'm not sure how bad drug convictions, at least if you aren't working with kids. My company is required by federal law to be a "drug free workplace," which forces us to sign documents, but the content of those documents isn't as restrictive as you might think--basically we have to agree not to use, possess, or distribute drugs at/during work, but what we do on our own time off company property is our own business. A past drug conviction wouldn't be a problem.
Perhaps; but unless you're working for someone with black projects, deep pockets, or a paranoid legal department you'll be offering your services as XYZ corporation and corporations don't have criminal records.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
You would need to get a little lucky and also have the chance to explain what's changed since your crimes. Find a smaller company where you can talk with someone who won't dismiss you because they have 200 other job candidates without your issue.
But remember that IT work generally revolves around security. And this makes it a job where trust is paramount. Convince an employer that your past was due to youthful exuberance and not a character flaw (you'll want to provide examples of other's trust in you), you will likely do fine.
"The great thing about the tech industry as that it is pretty easy to start your own company."
And the bad thing about the tech industry is that pretty much anybody is your competition, due to low barriers of entry.
Unless he's got a decent amount of working capital so that he can afford to take the time to get established, good luck with that ...
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
Check in with the people at WeAreAllCriminals.org -- they might have specific guidance for your situation.
Well, you can't really know that unless you apply, can you? If it's true that all the insurers out there are saying "no convicted felons in your IT workforce, ever," then whether you are honest about your background or not you probably won't get the job. Other than the time spent preparing a personal statement (an exercise you claim is pointless), you don't really lose anything by being honest. Unless, of course, you think it is better to "trick" someone into employing you, which probably isn't a strong basis for a successful career.
He said he had both. "I am a felon with several misdemeanors." He may have been unclear, but he did not mix them up.
He also did not enumerate any of them. That doesn't automatically mean they were for non-serious crimes and has nothing to do with the fact that the US has some idiotic laws on the books that can make felons out of "really nice people." This "poor baby, I'm so sorry you live in the US" crap just turns criminals into victims.
He had at least one felony and several misdemeanors in his background. That points to some sort of "life of crime" that is likely more than youthful indiscretions. Without more information we can only speculate what those were. This is information OP has not provided, perhaps willfully, as the type of crimes would surely would surely influence our answers.
When a company does a background check, they get back more than just "1 felony, 3 misdemeanors." They get back what he did. And if they don't want to hire him under those circumstances, they may have very good reasons.
Sometime what you do actually does influence your future. But "He was just turning his life around" is a stock phrase in nearly every article about yet another arrest. What you do shows your character, and if that messes you up, that's really too bad, but tough.
How about a moderation of -1 pedantic.
There are many places more wonderful to live than Ohio. In Florida when the job market is tight even a minor misdemeanor can jamb you up for life as far as almost all companies are concerned and it doesn't matter what skill or trade you are in. But you can be elected to Congress and fit right in.
One way is self employment.
If you run your own business then you shouldn't have any issues hiring yourself.
Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
However, there's a big difference between a felony and a misdemeanor, depending on the crime.
Often there is very little or very illogical differences. In many places a teenager voluntarily sending a picture of themselves without clothing to someone else counts as a felony (considered child porn) whereas an adult doing the exact same thing to the exact same person for the exact same reason would not be considered a crime at all in some cases. In fact the teenager in that case may get the privilege of registering as a sex offender for the rest of eternity even if the picture was just sent to a boyfriend/girlfriend. It's absurd but it happens. The line between felony and misdemeanor is an often arbitrary and capricious one and not all felonies are particularly serious crimes.
That said, if someone is a cocaine addict I definitely wouldn't want him or her in my organization, especially if he had access to valuable information or resources that he could sell to pay for his next week of fixes.
That's an awfully broad brush you have there. I have an alcoholic who works for me. Served time in prison because of it and lost his driver's license for over a decade. He's been sober for some years now but he'll always be an alcoholic. He's a good worker, nice guy and very reliable. He just had a problem with addiction. You could easily substitute alcohol for cocaine and the situation would identical. Just because someone has/had a problem with substance abuse does not mean they cannot ever be trusted again. They have to prove they can handle the responsibility but a blanket ban against people who have had a problem in the past is needlessly harsh. You have to address it on a case by case basis.
I've been able to be an IT consultant, and the topic of background checks never came up. I don't work for big financial customers of course, mostly with small and medium sized businesses. But the gigs pay pretty well, I ended up setting it as a sole proprietor rather than do anything fancy with LLCs. I do pay a lot of taxes but I'm able to charge enough to make a decent living.
Whether you believe in punishment by the state or by a higher being, whether you believe in the death penalty for chewing gum, or don't believe in it for murder -- it doesn't make sense to not kill somebody, to let him out of jail, and then to make it impossible for him to earn a decent living.
Drugs you can show completion of a program, swear you've been clean for two years, have testimonials from your preacher, rabbi and yoga instructor.
Better idea is to voluntarily test yourself on a regular (monthly?) basis. I know doctors who do this so that in the event of a lawsuit they can prove that they were not chemically impaired. If anyone questions them then they can produce a multi-year stack of clean drug tests.
1. Start your own company, no one runs background checks on a company owner, you are just automatically granted a certain amount of respect, and clout, even if your sales are $0 per year.
2. Black, White, Grey. There are many hats; choose your color.
I art more snarky, and terse than thou. I art Slashdot!
While many places will pass on the basis of a felony record, one of the best Java guys I ever worked with had a felony assault conviction from about five years prior after a guy started a bar fight. He was a contractor when we met, was hired by the company we were doing work for, and hasn't seemed to have too many problems finding work. He was also very up-front about the conviction during the HR process.
Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
It depends profoundly on what the felony conviction was for. I'm afraid the fact that you asked a very vague question and expect a somehow useful answer is, itself, a much stronger indication that you do _not_ belong in IT. Expecting a useful answer from such a vague question is not a good engineering approach, especially in IT where incredible resources can be wasted addressing unspecified requirements. I'm afraid that, if I saw your resume after this, I'd reject it on the grounds of the horrible question without even having to consider the felony itself.
I've met people with drug convictions and who practice medicine, after treatment and with regular blood tests. I even knew of a child care worker with a kidnapping conviction. (She helped hide a mother and children from an abusive father under extraordinary circumstances.) And if "expunging" is not available, perhaps a pardon is feasible: Ohio apparently can seal court records with a pardon, though it's not automatic.
So a conviction is not necessarily career ending. But without more details, the question is too vague to be usefully answered.
Because they also show up on the background check, and establish a pattern of ongoing illegal activity. A felony conviction for vehicular manslaughter, on New Year's Day coming home from a celebration, with no history of drug or alcohol abuse, can be described as a single tragic event. A vehicular homicide after a long history of DUI convictions and failed treatment programs means a real addiction risk: it's just the sort of thing that background checks should detect.
*May* he
Most linux users don't know this, but the man pages were named after Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris fsck'ing hates noobs!
So, I had just got out of the military and was a little mentally unstable, nightmares and some ptsd related issues(which resolved now no thanks to the VA or Navy. My wife and I were on the verge of a divorce. During a shopping trip I snapped in public and even though she wasn't injured and her 14 year old daughter didn't see it but was present for the incident I was smacked with a felony domestic violence charge. At sentencing I tool a plea that dropped it to a misdemeanor at sentencing so for all intents and purposes I am not a felon but close enough. I did two weeks of an ankle bracelet and now I am on probation for up to 3 years and no promise of expunging was made. I was in process of getting my certs but I stopped because I don't think anyone will hire me with a misdemeanor. I can't fall back to nursing because healthcare doesn't hire convicts either. I didn't use a weapon. I didn't steal. It wasn't premeditated. No drugs. NO PRIORS not even a speeding ticket. In fact just before my military service I was an intern at LAPD doing crime analysis. Anyways, she hit me in the face then snatched my glasses off my face anf smashed/stomped them on the ground then got in my way when I tried walking away while she was talking. and the DA, even with pictures and video evidence didn't pursue her at all. Yeah. I came here for advice and instead the threads are filled with politics and speculation. I'll take some well thought out or merited advice. P.s. I was going to grab A+, get network+ and then go for CCNA and try to land a decent job. My new idea was to finish a 4 year degree since in 3 years I can attempt to expunge.
I suggest heading to a large city where there is more competition for IT professionals. In those cities, non-profit organizations have a difficult time competing for talent. You would likely have a better opportunity to resume your IT career in that sector. Then, once you have some stable years behind you working in IT, you can merge back into the general marketplace. Another good suggestion mentioned by another commenter is picking up jobs via Craigslist. Many of my own projects have been gained via that avenue. Good luck to you.
... at either JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup or Morgan Stanley. If they aren't too bright, they try the TSA, which has a track record of hiring felons, although they tend to bust them frequently for pilfering luggage. (If you think I jest, look it up!)
...for purchasing vibrators in six or seven states?
... after having saved this law firm in Seattle, Bogle and Gates, some bucks when I was an IT contractor there, I applied for a position which opened in their tech support department. For some peculiar reason, instead of hiring me, a tried and true quantity, they opted to instead hire a woman who had been fired from two previous jobs in San Francisco --- for embezzling.
One day the partners arrived at work to find all their operating funds had disappeared, and today Bogle and Gates is no more since they dissolved the firm without any operating funds to continue on. (Maybe crooks hire crooks, after all, considering who that Gates was the grandfather to?)
A vague question posted to Slashdot isn't a _strong_ indication of anything other than perhaps being new to Slashdot. No doubt, more details will garner better responses. But, there's no reason to be harsh.
... since that defense corporation is majority owned by the Bush family and James Baker.
and wealthy country in the world.
Two words: Top Management.
Move to California, The law doesn't allow most felonies to be considered unless you're a sex offender. I have a family member that is a convicted felon and he has worked for himself for 40 years. He was a convicted as a teenager of federal felony fraud for writing bad checks at Yosemite NP.
Aside from the fact that it's fundamentally incompatible with democracy, wasn't a huge part of the American revolution the idea that there should be no taxation without representation? Those felons are taxpayers, aren't they?
Technically representation and voting are different things. Representation means you have a person in the legislature representing you. Someone you can go to and share your grievances with. Voting means you got to pick that person.
Also be careful with found father era references. In those days in some jurisdictions only landowners could vote. Like today's felons, the non-land owners in those jurisdiction were represent, they could speak and correspond with representatives, but could not vote.
I know people who have been in similar situations. Burglary II, felony in 1995. Stole a bunch of equipment out of Bell yards, got busted. At first, it was very difficult. Going through contracting companies was the only option. Manpower, CDI, Staffmark...I know Manpower Professional will still put you out for contracts even with a more recent felony, they ONLY tell the client IF specifically asked. Be totally honest with these contracting companies, they will play the HR game for "your side" and after a few short job's they seem to not care once you've proven yourself.
Ironically reminding the contracting companies about the felony can firm up trust, one friend was put up at a Capital One call center via Manpower so they called their rep and told them "It's in my application, I can't pass a fingerprint check" so they just replaced him, still paid him AND found another position. But it takes time. Most applications at most companies I've seen will only check 7 years back. The form might say seven, ten, or whatever years...or might say "Ever". But the actual check itself only goes back seven. Just carefully read the forms, eventually you'll find various places that you can legally avoid having to put it down. Often places will have it on the paper work but never actually read it; scribbling it on the lines where it's barely legible MIGHT have worked...yet many companies never actually read over all 20-50 pages of paper work outside the I-9 / w-2 stuff.
The advice about "your own company" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, even just as something to fill in employment gaps in your resume. Even if it's only working on Hypervisor in your home lab, re-branding yourself is crucial. When all my friends where starting out in IT, we often had a "default" company we would cover for each other with for work references since we actually did know each other's capabilities. Basically put the type of work you WANT in the "experience" of your own business, tell people it's your i-9 contracting company...as long as you actually know how to perform what you wrote down (or can learn fast) you CAN recover.
Dude, it's a LONG HARD ROAD. There might be times your working at fast food, remembering the days of your company laptop. You might have to work call centers for awhile; some have more "technical" positions too. You just have to wait for the heat to cool off, pay off all your fines, and work what ever shit you can until you get to the 7 year mark. Stay clean, no more charges, keep all your ID's up to date and a bank account open. Most importantly, GET REAL HELP if there is a reason behind the felony. People will forgive you if you really do try to fix whatever behavior lead to the felony...if it's something like that but TFA doesn't really say. DUI, go to ALL the treatment courses, get into and STAY in AA or SOS or something; show the HR people you've got a handle on what lead you down the road of crime. I've seen MANY people with undiagnosed ADD get into tons of "stupid" legal trouble; a few of them got adderal treatment along with behavioral therapy and are back in the "corporate world". They really did analyze themselves and make a change; since the felony often points to a deeper problem internally you've got to FIX that if you want to be accepted back into civil society.
Good luck, and godspeed. You'll need it, and you'll need the social support of your friends. Eventually you might turn the felony around into positive PR, aka street cred!
I work at a Fortune 500 in Manhattan, and over the past decade have hired two convicted felons. Both of them had records from more than a decade ago, and both had work experience in the field. One is now a senior engineer, and one is a manager of engineers.
Half of the challenge in employing them was getting the approval of the company to hire them. It wasn't that unlike justifying getting an H1B for someone though: prove that the people are uniquely qualified, and the system just functions. The hard part, once that was done though, was convincing the employees that it was ok to apply. They faced a long-held belief that they could get a lot of the way through an interview process, but then have their hopes dashed later on. Because I was upfront with our HR team in advance though, I knew it was going to be ok. That doesn't mean they had an easy time accepting it though.
In the end, the two of them now have 8 years between them within the company, and their peers are none-the-wiser. Even other managers of theirs never know, it now just lives as data in their hr file.
you'd never even get into the classes needed for a pharm tech lol. But a drug conviction like you say is probably one of the easiest to explain; you can easily show a paper trail of rehabilitation to satisfy HR. You might have some issues being a PC tech at a hospital; but knowing their hiring practices here locally and all the nurses also abusing (and getting busted) for stealing meds it seems it might actually help get a job there.
Theft is really the board line. But if you can sum up the felony in a sentence or two, laugh it off, then often you can blow right past the HR drone's shields LOL. The Morgan Freeman line off "Universe" always works..."when I was a boy"..."I did this bad thing with XYZ". Trick the drones into "ignore" mode, confuse them with messy paperwork that only shows up AFTER you've already got a tentative offer...
I've had a past which involved the legal system due to technical and interstate financial crimes. That past was about 23 years ago. What people want is to see that you've reformed. They want to see that you're honest. They want to see that you're not the risk or liability that you once were. Time will make the difference here. If your last transgression was 6 months ago then you are going to have problems. If your last transgression was 10 years ago then you likely don't pose the same problem that you did before. Small steps in improving yourself will show potential employers that you have changed your life direction. You need to be able to show a prospective employer what you've done to improve yourself. I don't know what you have been applying for, but for what it's worth, I've been able to work without issue in sensitive job environments as a contractor for various well-known government agencies. My past has never held me back in this regard. The important part is that I was honest and up front with what I had done. Being honest conveys accepting responsibility for your actions and realizing that what you've done is unacceptable to society. There is a book that I recently finished that was written by a long-time acquaintance of my family. This acquaintance spent a few years as a guest in state and federal prisons for various felony accomplishments. The book is written primarily for the ex-offender to change his or her life course. However, there is a lot of good information generally in the book that is applicable to a wide range of people and backgrounds, ex-offender or not. For instance, this guy went from prison with felony convictions to being a corporate aircraft pilot to starting an Internet Service Provider and acting as the company's CEO before selling it. He steps through what he's done to improve himself, how things have worked out, how people have responded to him, etc. It's available on Amazon for something ridiculously inexpensive like $3.99. The book is called "Slaying the Dragon - The Journey from the Dungeon to the Ivory Tower" by David J Koch. It may help you in your journey. I should mention that I receive no compensation or anything else for suggesting the book. My motive is purely from coming from a similar background as yours and having this acquaintance with the background and the life accomplishments that proves a good career and life can be had if you're determined enough.
Surely a drug dealer has a good grasp of running a business - supply chain logistics, negotiation, customer service, building demand for product, basic book keeping..
Lots of useful skills there.
Work free as a volunteer for any of the worthy nonprofits that need such help, and become known for your excellent work and professionalism. There's a good chance you'll get a recommendation that will drown out any doubts.
If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
Aside from the fact that it's fundamentally incompatible with democracy, wasn't a huge part of the American revolution the idea that there should be no taxation without representation? Those felons are taxpayers, aren't they?
Technically representation and voting are different things. Representation means you have a person in the legislature representing you. Someone you can go to and share your grievances with. Voting means you got to pick that person.
So, why couldn't all those colonialists send a letter to an MP back in England?
Do you have an indian reservation nearby? I have two near me and I've seen the same IT positions (a DB admin and a sys admin) available for the last two years for one place.
Now, I can't speak with any authority, but reservations around here operate as sovereign territory and don't play by the same local/state/national rules. So it could be that a past felony might be OK. It's also entirely possible that they would reject you because of your felony, but it's an option worth checking.
My suggestion would be to take this as an opportunity to transcend the need to work for the enrichment of someone else and go off script.
If you have IT skills, take the time to step back and determine ways you can put them to use for your benefit without having to be a wage slave. Granted, you may need to go ahead and take assorted crappe jobs for a couple years while you build and save the means to strike out on your own, but that is a small sacrifice to pay for long term independence.
The 21st Century is rife with means for enterprising individuals to break from 19th and 20th Century tradition and live comfortably ever after without having to rely on anyone but themselves for employment.
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In this country too many things that are not serious are midemeanors or felonies. We need new classifications for these crimes. 'Fellony' just doesn't convey enough information. Most crimes fall in a very narrow spectrum of offenses. Violence, Theft, Fraud, negligence. I think for violent crimes, you are up the creek, very few businesses would take a chance on that. Depending on the business, Theft, Fraud and negligence could be ignored. Of course, this is my utopian view of how it should be. In the US unfortunately, a conviction is like a permanent stamp.
Aka personnel risk assessments generally are time limited. My employer (for various reasons including the drafter, me, thought a forever check was asinine), limits checks to the previous 7 years. There is also an exception process for those that do 'pop' that includes a specific assessment of risk for the hire/employee to have a sensitive position. Depending on the conviction (fraud/theft is more of an issue w/ a trust based position), you just need an inside advocate, as hard as that may be.
Depends on the felony. You can get a felony for having too much weed on you. There are many "crimes" which sensible people realize shouldn't even be a crime, some of which are felonies.
-- sudon't
Air-ride Equipped
You have tried to work with them, now work for yourself. Stop talking about prison life, no one cares. Offer your services as a software contractor. No applications to fill out; just your ablility to do the job. Do the job, get paid, pay your straight time taxes. Move on. There's plenty of work, but no jobs. Keep the paper work, do the paper work; then see what happens next.
Simply because there are laws against types of discrimination, doesn't mean employers don't discriminate. If you're looking at two résumés, both equally qualified, some kind of discrimination is going to come into play, whether regarding race, gender, criminal history, etcetera... You simply can't be overt about it, and I suspect much of it is unconscious, anyway.
-- sudon't
Air-ride Equipped
In this instance, they're looking at patterns of behavior. A man who has cheated on his wife is likely to do so again, and the government thinks that cheating on your wife is likely to indicate a propensity to cheat in other contexts and to have trouble resisting sexual temptation, which is one of the most common way that people are persuaded to give up secrets. Blackmail is another.
It would be nice if the government published studies of risk versus risk factor. How important is a felony conviction or an affair or having smoked pot as a predictor of security risk? I think companies would like to know, but who's got the stats to say what is or isn't a serious risk?
... ahead of a smoker. Or a PHP developer.
Is often "Have you ever been arrested?" and "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?".
If you answer "Yes", the next question is often to describe why you were arrested and whether you were convicted.
If it's a juvie record, you might not have to answer.
When and if you are hired, they are putting a lot of trust in the hire. For positions that demand that level of trust, a hire is unlikely. For others positions, they might hire and you'll have to prove yourself as not being a risk. Evenually, if you stay clean, most will forget your earlier transgressions. Keep your performance evaluation as they will help you in the future if hired.
Good luck!
. In those days in some jurisdictions only landowners could vote.
And in practice, only white males could buy land. It wasn't an "open" marketplace for land with everyone bidding on land on an equal basis. If you were selling land, you'd not sell to the Chinese or Irish. Or your next home would be at risk of burning down accidentally.
Learn to love Alaska
why are americans such judgemental pricks?
when you've done your time, you've done your time. that should be the end of it and, aside from some very limited cases like not letting pedos work with kids, discrimination against former criminals should be illegal....even a fuckwit yank should be able to figure out that if ex-crims can't get jobs and have no choice but crime to support themselves then that's what they'll do.
and that this will probably soon change, you'll realize how quick we are to judge others without due consideration for the individual.
Sent from my ENIAC
Misdemeanors shouldn't even show up on a criminal record. Only felonies. But then you did say you're in Ohio and they have one of the more archaic legal sysems in the U.S. Time to get the hell out.
I suggest you have an NCIC check done - if nothing shows up there just move to another state that isn't as ass backward as Ohio and you'll be in the clear.
I say this because I know in most states the look mostly at NCIC but in some places the look at the state BCI. Thing is, NCIC only records felonies not misdemeanors. So it looks like those rejecting you are running state BCI checks.
I suspect (I'm speculating though) that most large companies have policies in place that prevent hiring of people with criminal histories. However small companies and start-ups are often more free to make case-by-case decisions. My one datapoint is having worked for a small company with an excellent programmer with no college degree. When I started at a large well-known company he asked about working there as well. I recommended him to my boss who told me they had a strict rule - you need a college diploma to work there.
So look for firms of less than 200 employees where you have a decent chance of the top guy finding out about you and overriding any policies in place (if there are any).
I often don't like the choices people make, but I like the fact that people make choices. That's why I'm a conservative.
You'll find followers in every part of the character spectrum. Hell, even MS13 probably has a ton of follower personality types in it. Character is orthogonal to personality type.
Doing that could get you fired, and for gross misconduct to boot. Gross misconduct might deprive you of unemployment and COBRA benefits. Usually it gets avoided so there's no need to prove that in court, but it is simple to prove in the case you lied on a form and they caught you out.
If he's truly desperate, he could try to lie, but I seriously advise against it. If you like working in IT, you don't want to piss off the people you work with like that. Word gets around. Even in big towns, people in IT frequently see each other again.
I would tend more towards getting in the door in some indirect way where they don't conduct the background check or can somehow be convinced that it isn't a big deal. There are some places that would at least listen to you, if your position isn't particularly sensitive.
Our company does do background checks, and I ensure all my admins are checked. We have responsibility for credit card numbers and it is part of our information security program to get them done. I can't say if the check will definitely find his felony, but I can tell you that if he lied and it did, I'd immediately fire him. It's one thing to be a past criminal who has served your time. It's another thing to be a past criminal who is still lying. It tends to reinforce the idea that you can't be trusted.
I have sympathy for his position, be he needs to not lie about it. What he needs is a situation where someone will accept his explanations and character references or for the question to not come up. People fudge things all the time, like their skills or education, but this is not something you can fudge and have it not come back to haunt you unless you are very lucky.
I'd might suggest he consider being a developer. You might still get checked, but usually the only people who *need* checks are administrators who have production access. That's why we do our best to lock down production and keep everyone else out. That allows the rest of the company to not have to deal with crazy audit and checking requirements. All you have to deal with then are your change control process and tests. Since there is the expectation that we can't trust code that goes in, we don't have to trust the developers completely. I'm not sure how viable that is, but it could work.
For what it's worth, IT is not what it is cracked up to be. It is one of those careers that looks better from the outside, looking in. Granted, my experience is jaded and I'm autistic so I don't function well in an office environment. Have you thought about a career driving an 18 wheel semi? The reason I ask is that many companies don't care if you're an ex-con and the money is VERY VERY good. After 13 years of being in IT, the most money I made is 75,000.00 a year and I worked 90+ hours per week plus on call time. I felt as if I was only noticed when things went wrong and I got absolutely sick and tired of dealing with people who think that computers should be perfect. Furthermore, I got sick of being penalized on performance reviews for not making improvement suggestions. Every time I made a good suggestion, the answer would be "let me look into that." As a rookie truck driver, I'm earning 65,000 a year and my cubicle is an 80,000 lb semi with satellite radio, GPS, and a few other bells and whistles. I get quarterly fuel and safety bonuses and I can get pretty much routed wherever I want to go. Since it's cold and snowy up north, I've requested routes that take me through the desert southwest. If I could turn back time, I never would've gone to college - I would've gone straight into a tractor trailer training school. Also, contrary to popular belief, truck driving has challenging moments and there is almost rarely a dull day. :-D
I'm not a feminist, nor am a a misogynist. I have no problem attacking either when necessary, and in this case your claim is absolutely false.
The reason a person who has committed adultery can't get a clearance (or at least has a greatly reduced chance) is that it demonstrates dishonesty and disloyalty. A women guilty of cheating on her husband would have the same issues, so there is no gender bias.
In all cases, assuming you are completely honest with investigators you might still possibly get a clearance.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
If you can't find someone to hire you, start your own.
Unless the suppliers of the business you would start refuse to deal with a business owner who has 1. no management experience, 2. felonies, or 3. both.
Corporations don't have criminal records
Their principals do.
and unless you are working for someone who screens your employees
Plenty of suppliers screen their clients. For example, a distributor screens the retails that sell its products, and a game console maker screens the developers who make software for its platform.
I'm a felon also. It is a long hard uphill battle to find employment. I had to bust ass to get where I am today, hard laborious work. Now I am in a managerial position, I have 6 guys I employ and all have colorful pasts except one. I trust them, just like my boss trusts me. Trust and respect is earned overtime. My best suggestion is to keep trying. Opportunities will come. I know how difficult it is to start over, and the struggle even to get a stupid drivers license.
I work in IT also, for an industrial company. You might start there. In my state felons can still get licensed and bonded, so you might get a contractors license. The bond might help with the voodoo felon shit.
Best of luck
According to the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), blanket policies against all felonies are discrimination, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
EEOC Enforcement Guidance
Blanket policies are racially discriminatory.
That being said, if you're caucasian, you probably won't be able to get anyone to pick up the case. The ACLU won't touch it.
The felony is only supposed to be discriminated against if it affects the job position, i.e., if you rob a bank, you shouldn't be allowed to work in a bank, etc.
They also ban felons from getting professiona licenses (such as a plumber's or electrician's license), getting SNAP food benefits, TANF benefits if they have kids, student loans, etc. Unless the state has passed legislation opting out of the ban, like many have.
It's not right, felonies weren't meant to become life sentences in most cases, but this has the effect of becoming a life sentence. And they wonder why people return to crime... it's because they have no other means of supporting themselves.
Seattle,WA passed a law making it illegal to ask about felonies until you've been given an offer of employment.
-Myke
After 9/11 the law was changed to allow for unlimited background checks instead of the former previous 7 years. So 20 years after my conviction I was suddenly fired for it. After a year of job hunting and a year of refusals I said sarcastically to myself "The only way a company will ever hire me is if I own the company". And that was when necessity met inspiration and great things started to happen. I started my own company. An IT consulting/staffing firm, the type every Fortune 500 uses to fill positions. So I first incorporated (C-corp is best for this situation). As Cytotoxic stated, "I cannot imagine an IT shop failing to check the background of a system administrator who will be working with banking systems". He is right. Being the "consulting firm" allows you a layer of insulation between yourself and the client while still allowing you to advertise "all of your consultants have been through a vigorous background check". Technically this is not lying as you have been through a few vigorous background checks. Most firms will not pay to BG check if they hire through a staffing firm. As far as client knows I am just a consultant for XYZ Corp, I do not volunteer that I am the owner unless asked (don’t lie if asked). If you are working in a regulated environment (ie banking/financials) this still doesn't get you past the SEC Officer or other regulatory agency official. gcnaddict advice was spot on as it is exactly what I do. I go first directly to the SEC Officer (I usually work investment houses) to fill out my background check paperwork and absolutely write down my conviction and the required "brief description". Being honest I have yet to be turned down (my conviction is theft). This information is generally not passed back to the employing company. Since starting my firm, it merged with another, became one of the premier in its niche, was purchased by an investment firm, and my felonious self laughed all the way to the bank. Could be you next.
I've never had a background check run on me for freelancing (to my knowledge). My record is clean, so I don't know for certain that this would work for you. However, I've been able to do very well for myself working at home ~30 hours a week. My wife doesn't work either.
... they should not be allowed to work in IT.
stuff they never did end up in their name. Seen that a lot lately where workers were wrongfully dismissed because of murder or fraud conviction turn up but later were proven false.
FYI Criminal Identity Theft is the most dangerous form of identity theft:
https://www.privacyrights.org/...
New Economic Perspectives
where they have a known history of hiring felons as faculty or staff.
New Economic Perspectives
There are areas of IT where some companies would consider someone with your history. Not every position in IT will deal with corporate security or information that falls under privacy issues. Depot services where you would be refurbing systems returned for warranty replacement are one place where systems that you deal with would only have factory images. There are also IT-related areas like servicing peripherals (printers and copiers, for instance) where you might be able to get a foot in the door.
Another area you could find work in is small business IT, where relationships count more than blunt instrument corporate policies that legislate common sense out of existence. There are many small businesses that might consider allowing you to do IT support if you are up front about your history. Not all, mind you, but many.
If you are a programmer, and you have the chops for it, you can work a non-IT job to survive and choose an Open Source project to contribute to. Become a significant contributor to the project to demonstrate your programming ability, establish your personal brand and present yourself as a knowledge leader. Or if you're interested in security, for instance, become an expert in your field, present to Small Business Chambers and other business groups, write, and give away lots of free information. Give away some expertise to establish your reputation, and then you can market yourself as a consultant. The more you can specialize in a specific vertical market niche, the more profitable you can become. Once you have built up your business, then you may even be bold enough to publish your story: from convicted felon to sought-after consultant. It will take time, but it can be done, but it will take chops in marketing and brand management as well as programming, security, or whatever your technology skill may be.
I'm afraid that, if I saw your resume after this, I'd reject it on the grounds of the horrible question without even having to consider the felony itself
Well thank goodness you're not my hiring manager. I would guess you're not a hiring manager at all, but - based on YOUR attitude - one of the basement sysadmins who feels like he is God of all technology and better than 99% of the rest of humanity.
The question isn't all that vague, and when reporting on a conviction one of the issues can be that there isn't much room for explanation. It's "[name] was convicted of X". So you may have a guy who's a convicted "sex offender" when all he really did was get drunk and relieve himself in sight of a playground at 1:00am. Unless you have a chance to explain yourself though - which often YOU WON'T, at least on form-based applications - then you probably aren't even getting to the interview.
I haven't any convictions myself, but I've seen some pretty dismally generic applications forms and "vague" pretty much fits them perfectly. Now, from a hiring perspective, yeah I'd feel a little nervous about working next to a convicted sex offender, but not so much the guy who peed on a tree... the problem being that most people aren't going to get past HR screening to the point where the details could even be discussed.
A former felon got locked up for a few years over a very simple workplace dispute there which got blown out of all proportion to give the Mayor a photo opportunity at the prison. He had to be guilty of all kinds of evil plans because of his record, even if reality looked a lot like getting caught in the middle of a dispute where the person in charge of IT security was being squeezed out to give a crony a place to work.
Can't work it out yet? Google "Terry Childs". Funny how all of those initial charges of mayhem were reduced to a much smaller number of charges isn't it?
You don't put felons in charge of highly sensitive and potentially high value data. You can talk all you like about being reformed, but there is now a massive trust issue surrounding your behaviour and anything you say.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
You should get a job on Wall Street, a juvenile criminal career would be considered a big plus there ..
Every situation, and every person is different. Being so binary with people rarely works as an HR strategy. All you do is throw out the best talent for people that are good at not getting in trouble. Being good at not getting in trouble does not make you a good developer, a good salesperson, a good marketer, a good accountant... it just ensures that the person is good at not getting caught and getting out of it when caught. Useful skills, but usually NOT what you are hiring for.
Every time I have been cheated, swindled or defrauded it was by someone who had no prior criminal history whatsoever. I've seen church lady bookkeepers embezzle. I've seen top workers steal inventory. I've had 10%er developers fake time records so they could go to the bar. I've had people turn in tens of thousands in fake expenses. I've had incredibly good customers for five years straight try to get fraudulent refunds.
The common thread was that every one of these persons had a major change in their personal life. Divorces. Tax problems. Spouse got fired. Kids got really ill. Every time there was a major change. So I've started paying close attention to the personal lives of people who work with and for me. When things get tough for them, I try to be engaged and communicate a lot more with them. Sometimes I can directly help (for instance pay off a killer deductible to get the bill collectors to stop). Other times I can't... but by being engaged and interested, the employee knows at some level I'm paying attention. Since I started paying attention, I've had a lot less shenanigans. I'm also a lot less afraid to hire people who are facing challenges... and I've made some amazing hires over the years as a result.
-- $G
I have 11 felonies on my record and I work in IT.
I work in data analytics and design in the financial services industry. I've previously contracted with the military, banks, and had a variety of employers and clients, corp2corp, 1099, W2, and never had a problem with either being open about it or a background check.
The biggest issue I've had with being a felon was trying to rent an apartment. I've been rejected at several apartments I've tried to get, but never had a problem with IT jobs whether it was training, contracting. Coding, or handling the data from startups to giant megalith multinationals.
I'm a satanic clam.
Self-employment is the way to go....
Some ideas; Do check this link http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/0... Contribute to open source projects when you don't have work https://guides.github.com/acti... Freelance through the elance or other coder for hire type sites https://www.elance.com/ Start your own IT support company/freelance/contract/game development, whatever your strongest skills are https://www.sba.gov/ Get your company registered as a state/federal contractor and bid http://www.procure.ohio.gov/pr... http://www.gsa.gov/portal/cate...
Start your own company. Customers aren't going to check your background unless you're trying to sell them security services - and maybe not even then.
blindly antisocialist = antisocial
Slim chance to get hired at a big firm, best shot is to make very good friends with someone already on the inside that can vouch for you but that's still slim. It's not laziness on HR's part, they're just covering themselves. The unfortunate reality is, as much as you may think you've turned your life around, nobody wants the liability of hiring a felon. If you ever accused of doing something, no matter **how small** someone would trace back and find out you were a felon and automatically (unfairly) cast blame on that lone fact. Even if it's only an accusation, it will likely blow up. Say someone files a fictitious sexual harassment suit against you and then bam. Not only are you done because you're already guilty without an investigation, but also someone will then get fired in HR for disregarding your criminal past and blamed for hiring you to begin with. Very few people are willing to take that risk on a person with a criminal record when there are other clean candidates out there, the ocean has too many fish. It's not IT's fault, it's not even HR's fault, it's society's fault for setting things up this way and being "OK" with we treat other human beings.
My recommendation is to just go for a small firm where you have a better chance of getting to know people there, and have less stringent hiring practices. That's probably your best shot?
One conviction (felony or otherwise) can be looked at as an outlier. Multiple convictions (felony or misdemeanor) establishes a pattern of poor judgement / impulse control on his part.
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." Col. Jeff Cooper
as someone who was convicted at the Federal level of a felony back in the 90's, I have continued to work in IT for the past 20 years, with only the following issues: any place that will submit fingerprints to the FBI or do an NCIC check will find the conviction. This will obviously hinder employment in places like financial companies/banks/trading firms that are registered with the SEC and are required (or via FINRA) to do fingerprint checks. That does NOT necessarily mean you will not be able to be employed at one of these firms-- it depends on the circumstances of the conviction... I shared my documentation with an employer regarding my conviction and they realized it was BS and did not fire me, and went on to recommend me to other employers. I've actually undergone background checks over the last 20 years by only 3 employers (including the 1 with fingerprints)... interestingly enough, the other 2 background checks FOUND NOTHING. I think that many of the checks done by small employers do not utilize an NCIC check, and only look at state records... federal conviction does not show up. Also, many only check back 7 or 10 years (and sometimes employers ask on applications if you have been convicted within the last 10 years- to which I can honestly answer NO).
Be aware that many states also have statutes allowing for expungement of records of arrest and convictions if certain conditions are met (i.e. good behavior, good character for x period of years)... some states even allow for mandatory expungment if you've been good for some period of time (you still have to file papers to request the expungment). When records are expunged, you are legally allowed to say you are NOT a convict. Problem is there is NO federal statute allowing for expungment, and no precedent in most federal court districts, so it's almost impossible to get an expungment of a federal conviction-- but, as seen in my case-- not necessarily a hinderance. I can't drive a cab in my town (requires fingerprint submission and signoff by local police chief), but I can work for small hedge funds that aren't SEC registered broker/dealers, etc.
And of course the comments about working for yourself are good, but it's tough to break into the market with no experience or existing clientele...
It seems like the questioner and all commenters are assuming that all "work" in IT involves a "job" where someone in HR decides to let you in. Have you considered freelance? Or starting your own consulting business?
American society is set up to promote recidivism. If you want to do meaningful work you've got very limited options on the "clean" path. I think Hawaii actually prohibits the consideration of criminal records for hiring. Everywhere else you're forced to wear your scarlet letter in full view. Small business might be your best shot. Your call on whether or not to fess up on your past. The chance of a background check varies by the sector the business is in.
Or, you can acknowledge reality and just go shop around for a plush job doing IT for the underground. I'm told they hire some of the best and brightest while offering very respectable compensation packages. e.g. medical, dental, 401K, etc.
Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once
I was in a similar boat. But after 7 years, many background checks will not show felonies. Some use 10 year background checks. My suggestion is to find a contract company that uses a 7 year check and do contract work. In my case, one of the companies I contracted with recognized my talent and hired me. Despite having fallen off the background check time, I still disclosed my situation. However, the company recognized my talent and already knew me so the decision was easier. Although I didn't have to disclose and they might not have found out, I chose to disclose in case someone with a personal vendetta chose to bring up the matter with HR in the future and have it disclosed in a manner I didn't choose. For me, it worked out and I feel like I work for a company I can retire from.
It very much matters why you were convicted or even changed with. I'd never hire a DBA who has a record of stealing, however I'd have no problem if you had murdered someone. Drugs and alcohol (especially DWI) are problematic as everyone will wonder if you're high (or drunk) right now. If you have those problems and have followed a 12 step program I'd emphasize it. Otherwise take steps to get employed that everyone should take such as joining professional organizations and networking. Most jobs I've ever found have been through someone who knows me. Good luck
Could always go 'freelance' and/or self-employed - that seems to work for some guys with felonies that are having a hard time getting hired in IT. Do a bit of 'word-of-mouth' work that gets your skills noticed, build up clientele that make good recommendations, find a niche IT market that no-one else is doing, or find a niche IT market that the 'big boys' are doing and make friends with some of their smaller, local clients: "hi! i see you use company-x for your 'cleaning dust bunnies from Mainframes' service. I can offer the same serivce or better, and cheaper, and I'm local!"- sort of thing. attend parties, bars, meetups where you can listen in on the woes of the drunken: "dang outsourced IT guys gave me wrong hardware/software/support! wish i could find someone better!"-sort of thing.
http://about.me/jimm.pratt
Throughout my career... I have been at two jobs where background investigation was not done....
I'm not saying you should give up... but while pursuing a job in this field... you should also consider other alternatives.... They may be far as good as IT... but better than nothing.
Given not a few but several incidents... it's on you and not anybody else's fault... Cleaning yourself up is good.... good for you and for everybody else... I applaud that and wish you much luck!
The only shot you have is to work for a smaller company that doesn't have an HR department and would give you the chance to explain your circumstances. You would need to be upfront and honest with any potential employer, as they always eventually find out. I once hired a felon and didn't regret it. He was a hard working individual. He was also upfront with me of his circumstances, but I ran a smaller IT consulting company.
I run a small IT company, and if we discuss it - and I understand where you're coming from, I would rather judge you on where you're at now and whether you love to code or not (or whatever it is the role you are going for). No one is perfect - in fact I've met a great many people who have such low moral standards I'm sure there are plenty of felons I would much prefer working with. It's about who you are now, and what you want to achieve with the rest of your life - and if that fits in with what we want to achieve also.
Aside from the fact that it's fundamentally incompatible with democracy, wasn't a huge part of the American revolution the idea that there should be no taxation without representation? Those felons are taxpayers, aren't they?
Technically representation and voting are different things. Representation means you have a person in the legislature representing you. Someone you can go to and share your grievances with. Voting means you got to pick that person.
So, why couldn't all those colonialists send a letter to an MP back in England?
Because there was no colonial sent to Parliament as an MP, no MP representing the colonies. No colonial, not even those with a franchise to vote in a colony, could vote for an MP. Only those living in England could vote for an MP.
I too had my spurt when I was younger. You'd think that writing a check on your own checking account wouldn't be the end of the world, especially if you turn yourself in, but it cost me two years in prison and a nice record with felonies. Even though I paid the restitution and did my time, the system is setup in such a way that you really don't ever stop paying for mistakes - like I can never own a gun, even though I've never had anything remotely violent in any history, but such is life. I started in the technology industry after all this happened, first at technical support and quickly advanced to systems administrator at an ISP. After a couple of years of that I went into programming and have never regretted it. I was lucky with the first company that I worked for after all this didn't care, and that paid off for that company as I took them from losing $30,000 a month into making a profit of around $22,000 a month within 8 months of being a sys admin. They sold off that company and asked me to move to a new company they were starting, built around a web site their in-house designer created that went viral and had over 3 million unique hits a day. All this spanned about 3 years and got some good experience under my belt. If you can make it past the first 3-4 years, most companies are going to take your experience over a mistake long since gone by. I've passed background checks and only had one issue in over 17 years working at a programmer. It has been a non-factor, whether brought up and discussed or not, with every job I've had spanning those 17 years - and that covers a good amount of jobs. Personally I don't go out of my way to volenteer the information, but also won't lie if asked or there is a generic form asking about criminal past. Making mistakes is part of living life, and I think most people and companies understand that and will look beyond it, but it does take you showing and proving it first. I wouldn't change what happened, as it has defined a part of me, and I believe made me a better person because of it - but in the same breath, I certainly wouldn't repeat it. Either way I don't believe that it would hold you back working in the future once you've established that it is a thing of the past.
California has some pretty strict standards about what they can ask, and it has to be job related. That means what you did has a bearing on what your chances are. I've only ever worked in IT so I can't really speak to the notion of how you'd fare in other careers. I know there's more than one organization here that specifically recruits felons in order to help out. Good luck!
Design and implement a new Silk Road, with an architecture that resists detection and takedown far more vigorously than the earlier incarnations. You'll have enough to retire on within months. Problem solved.
-- In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was UNSIGNED, and the main(){} was without form and void...
I'd imagine that if you're a felon, you'd have a fast-track in any MBA program.
I keed, I keed.
That said, I don't presume to know the laws, but I'd think you'd be better suited as part of a break-fix sort of shop. Never once in all my years was I ever asked about a criminal history or otherwise unsavory aspects of one's past. I have to support the suggestion of becoming a developer of some sort, since most of them are usually considered socially marginal, anyway.
Consistency is only a virtue if you're not a screw-up.