Maybe move to another state or country? If nothing else helps I guess that could be your best option.
What country would allow a documented felon to live there?
Ask HN: Any felons successfully found IT work post-release?
71–80 of 402 posts
Re: Ask HN: Any felons successfully found IT work post-release?
#72I have a felony dui from 2010. No deaths, injuries or crashes or anything like that just found myself over the limit a few times in the days before lyft/uber.
I had to focus on jobs with small companies that did no checks. There were so many times I declined jobs when I saw the background check just to avoid the shame. It's a waiting game until it falls off the threshold of places caring.
Eventually I got a job as a federal contractor working with semi sensitive metadata. I didn't need a clearance but had to get a public trust. Was still grilled by DIA trying to determine if i could be compromised. I am so glad I don't have to check the box anymore and have stayed out of trouble. 2 months of jail, 3 years of probation and another 10 years of shame. Good riddance. Today I make 170k as one of the main senior engineers. Good luck!
Ps some states have laws against asking if you're a felon. Cali and Colo might be 2. Look into remote jobs in those states after researching that.
Re: Ask HN: Any felons successfully found IT work post-release?
#73I don't have much helpful to add, but I had a colleague who had a bad night, acquired some felony charges for a firearm-related assault and they got fired/blacklisted for a few years. Subsequently, they did IT contract work behind the scenes with small contractors, kept in touch with his professional network, was super helpful to the rest of us, and after serious concerns and much debate, got back into his prior care…
Felony charges are a lot different from felony convictions. Was he convicted?
It's insane that charges that get dismissed are used against people. Maybe for some position of power or sensitive work like police or classified work dependingon the actual details, but there's no reason innocent people should be discriminated against.
Re: Ask HN: Any felons successfully found IT work post-release?
#74it's been 14 years since my felony, and every IT job I've had started out good but they looked me up. I got a unique name I can't change right now. so they always find me, I've been hired by billion dollar companies for technical member of staff positions paying 165k, only to be fired the day before I was supposed to start. I can't do it anymore. I can't try anymore. I've tried for years and years and I can't handle…
Sounds a lot like having a disability. They aren't allowed to discriminate, but they find ways around it.
Re: Ask HN: Any felons successfully found IT work post-release?
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
If the people you're paying to find weaknesses in the security system are assuredly never going to find a way to access internal data then how did you conclude you needed a pen tester in the first place? I mean, it's probably the right conclusion but only precisely because they'd find a way to access things they shouldn't be able to.
We spin up a clone of prod and point them at that. Certainly if a weakness is found in the clone it's also present in prod, but that's what contracts are for. And we also review logs to make sure. edit: a clone of prod w/ only test data in it, not prod data.
How do you know what you are looking for in the logs?
If you have the foresight to be able to recognize a malicious action from the logs, why not have the software block those actions from the start?
Re: Ask HN: Any felons successfully found IT work post-release?
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you change your name? (dumb Q perhaps)
not presently. but soon. I'm between addresses right now, basically. The last state I lived in wouldn't let me do it I'll still have a social security number that won't change, and I'll have an alias and anyone who really wants to find my info will find it even with a name change. What a name change does is get me off a simple google search. which isn't legal, fair credit reporting act defines very clearly what you a…
'The industry is still stuck in a "no one knows what to do about this problem"'
It's not that nobody knows - nobody cares. The lawyers will always advocate for not hiring anyone "risky". Be that criminal convictions, dismissed charges, or people with disabilities.
Re: Ask HN: Any felons successfully found IT work post-release?
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
We spin up a clone of prod and point them at that. Certainly if a weakness is found in the clone it's also present in prod, but that's what contracts are for. And we also review logs to make sure. edit: a clone of prod w/ only test data in it, not prod data.
How do you know what you are looking for in the logs? If you have the foresight to be able to recognize a malicious action from the logs, why not have the software block those actions from the start?
We log all accesses and flows. So eg if our pentesters found a vulnerability in an endpoint, we can retrieve every post against that endpoint and (1) verify the pentesters didn't exploit it against prod, and (2) verify that it hasn't been exploited by anyone else.
Re: Ask HN: Any felons successfully found IT work post-release?
#78Start an LLC if allowed in your state. Work under the LLC or work as a 1099. Less chance of employers looking you up if not a W2 employee. Select small companies to work for, or even work for yourself.
My wife had a misdemeanor that was eventually expunged and this seems to work.
Re: Ask HN: Any felons successfully found IT work post-release?
#79Move to a different country. I'm in an EU country and it's really rare to see a company do any background checks at all. Be honest, if/when you're asked about it of course - but just from personal anecdotal experience, it's rare that somebody even bothers to ask. (this might vary of course from country to country)
the company might not do a criminal background check, but the immigration officer sure will... another country is very unlikely to let someone immigrate (or even visit) with a criminal record
EU let's you in. Canada will not though. I know from experience.
Re: Ask HN: Any felons successfully found IT work post-release?
#80Move to a different country. I'm in an EU country and it's really rare to see a company do any background checks at all. Be honest, if/when you're asked about it of course - but just from personal anecdotal experience, it's rare that somebody even bothers to ask. (this might vary of course from country to country)
You need a clean background to move to another country if you're not a European. I specifically had to submit a Canadian RCMP fingerprint based background check when I moved to Iceland. EU nationals have it much easier, since the relocation process in the EU does not require that level of scrutiny.