Cleared work,
unpacked.
Practical explainers on clearances, GovCon hiring mechanics, and what the ClearMatch agent sees when it reads a resume.
- #clearances#govcon#ts-sci
TS/SCI, decoded: Top Secret is the clearance, SCI is the access
TS/SCI is not one clearance and it's not a 'higher' clearance than Top Secret. It's a Top Secret eligibility plus access to Sensitive Compartmented Information you've been read into. Here's what SCI actually is, how you get it, and why the polygraph is a separate question.
- #govcon#clearances#compensation
What a security clearance is actually worth: cleared pay, by the numbers
A clearance is worth real money — published surveys put the premium at 10–20%, with cleared professionals averaging $126,125 and full-scope-poly holders near $150,000. But the clearance is a multiplier on your skill, not a salary by itself. Here's what actually moves cleared pay.
- #clearances#govcon#investigations
Investigation tiers vs. clearance levels: what T1, T3, and T5 actually mean
NACI is now Tier 1. Secret runs on a Tier 3. Top Secret and SCI run on a Tier 5. The investigation tier and the clearance level are two different things, and conflating them is the most common mistake in cleared hiring.
- #govcon#cyber#certifications
DoD 8570 and 8140: the certification baseline behind cleared cyber jobs
For cleared cyber and IT work, the clearance is only half the gate. The other half is a DoD baseline certification: Security+ for most technical roles, CISSP higher up. Here's how 8570's IAT/IAM levels work, what changed under 8140, and why contractor postings still say '8570.'
- #clearances#govcon#sponsorship
Can you get a cleared job without a clearance? The sponsorship path, explained
You can't apply for a security clearance on your own — there's no form, no fee, no way to self-start. A clearance is sponsored by a cleared employer for a specific job. Here's how sponsorship actually works, what an interim gets you, and why 'willing to be cleared' is not the same as 'eligible.'
- #alternatives#govcon#competitors
ClearedJobs.Net alternatives: what each cleared job site is actually built for
Five places cleared candidates and GovCon recruiters actually search, with the tradeoffs each one makes on pricing, AI matching, scale, and clearance-tier modeling. Plus the difference between ClearedJobs.Net and ClearanceJobs that everyone confuses.
- #clearances#govcon#adjudication
The 13 adjudicative guidelines in plain English
What SEAD 4 actually scores you on, what's a deal-breaker, what's mitigable, and where most cleared candidates get the criteria wrong.
- #clearances#govcon#adjudication
Security infraction vs. violation: what gets logged, what costs you the clearance
Same act, different classification, very different consequences. A practical breakdown of how FSOs, DISS, and adjudicators treat the two, and what actually survives a reinvestigation.
- #clearances#govcon#primer
The US security clearance ladder, explained plainly
What Confidential, Secret, Top Secret, and TS/SCI actually mean — and why Secret holders can do Confidential work, but not the other way around.