felonyquestions

I have to respectfully disagree. At least the OP has a foot in the door in this field. Moving on to something else would mean starting at the bottom, yet having the same obstacles to overcome.

Some jobs are simply closed off. No way around it. Why hire a felon when you can hire any other equally (based off paper and salary requirements) qualified candidate? Government restrictions may preclude him as well.

If you are basing your options only on your history, then you have to find a career where your history doesn't hurt you. This means applying for jobs that felons apply for. You've done a year in jail, you know the embarassing(to society) level of education of most inmates. I don't think this is really a route you would want to consider.

Don't give up. You will have to work hard, sure. Harder than most. Which is a good quality to have when you find the right position.

I'm east coast, have extra work (not security unfort), and won't run a background check on you. Are you trying to stick with security? Or does any development work suit you?

Attention to detail has never been my strong suite ;)

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Sign up anonymously, I'm certianly hiding behind this account as well.

I found that this field has changed significantly in the past 15 years. I got my first job through getting caught hacking in high school. But today, there are so many more applicants who are qualified, and they are coming right out of college, that the pool is large enough where the government can enforce restrictions.

I've got a passport, and have never run into any issues.

Hi,

I've had a felony for over 8 years now, and have been working as a developer almost the entire time. I've only been asked to disclose that information once, and I did. While the company had questions, they didn't seem to care very much (note: I don't recommend telling anyone. If you're a great employee and a mistake from your youth discounts you from a job, it's a lose-lose. But I did tell, so... ).

College? They cared. I would have had to sit through review boards and go through a lot of extra hoops. So I never went. That's right, I'm a felon with no college degree.

Life is harder. Your paper trail isn't worth anything, so you have to create your public image (link to the SO podcast about blogging?). Let your accomplishments speak for themselves. Be a part of the community. Give back to the community. Get to know people through helping others. Get jobs through recommendations. You may not be able to work at BigCo, I don't think I can. But so many companies are small, I've found it doesn't matter.

You won't ever have to lie on a resume if you build yourself up in the right way.

* And please email me, seriously, if _anyone_ has questions. So many mundane things are a felony, and people need to understand that it isn't a life ending label before they jump to permanent solutions. My probation officer told me, paraphrased "You'll be surprised who else has a felony. They will probably be inclined to give you a chance. So make sure you have a job next visit.".