You're quite employable, regardless of past. You goofed up as a teen (who hasn't) and most folks can look beyond that, esp in infosec.
Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?
121–130 of 158 posts
Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?
#122Apply for the jobs you want. Be honest about your background and circumstances, let them rule you out, don’t rule yourself out before even giving yourself a chance.
Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?
#123Given your skills, I would recommend a startup or a consultancy (anything self-employed). This way you shield yourself from having to worry about disclosing your past to others, worrying about background checks, or the self-taught part (which should be irrelevant but oh well). Plus you grow in whatever direction you wish.
If you want the job route then you need to apply to as many things as possible and find a story version that wont scare people off. Don't lie, just give them a well packaged insight into what happened in the past. You also have humility which is a great start.
Good luck!
Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
>>what is required by an organization in a sensitive industry That really is not a factor, I have worked for a number of organizations that would never higher anyone convicted of a felony who did not have any sensitive requirements, were not dealing with money, or personal info, or anything important really There is just a huge stigma when it comes to criminal records, which is doubly painful in a over criminalized s…
I'm a huge believer that if people can't be trusted in society, they should be in jail, executed, or banished to someplace like Namibian desert / Siberia. A free man (after prison/probation) should be free; their conviction behind them and essentially erased. A free man can easily rape/murder/steal regardless of any BG check you put in place. If you're free, you have the full rights and priveleges of a free man inclu…
Why is it important that a convicted child abuser be free to take care of children once their punishment is over? There are plenty of other fields in which they could find employment.
Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
I see your point, and I'm in favor of inclusion in the workplace, but it's not all black and white. Would you allow a convicted sexual offender who did his time in jail take care of your child in a day care facility to which he got employed and didn't disclose his past conviction? Things need to be put into perspective, and evaluated carefully. With that said I don't think immediate termination was the right decision…
Are you aware that an estimated 1/4 of all registered sex offenders were themselves minors when they committed their offense? And age 14 is the single year that you're most likely to become a registered sex offender? I fully understand and appreciate the purpose of our laws. The practice, however, is a different story. And unless we stop including as crimes things that I'm not willing to consider crimes, I can't supp…
Or the number of registered sex offenders for peeing on the side of the interstate.
Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm a huge believer that if people can't be trusted in society, they should be in jail, executed, or banished to someplace like Namibian desert / Siberia. A free man (after prison/probation) should be free; their conviction behind them and essentially erased. A free man can easily rape/murder/steal regardless of any BG check you put in place. If you're free, you have the full rights and priveleges of a free man inclu…
Why is it important that a convicted child abuser be free to take care of children once their punishment is over? There are plenty of other fields in which they could find employment.
I don't believe in having multiple classes of free citizens. If a free person wants to, they could easily abduct a child, barring them from taking care of kids is a laughable feel-good policy that insults the notion that there should be no free second class citizen.
If someone can't be trusted to not abuse children, they need to be jailed or on probation until they can be trusted. Those people can't be trusted in public. If they've abused children through rape of small children or serious violence against the weak, just execute the low life. Children are everywhere, the idea an abuser is just fine being tempted with children everywhere, from the street to playground, except they'll be nice and honest and use their real SSN and identity when applying to work with children is a hilarious notion.
And frankly, unless proven otherwise, I assume sex convictions are something like pissing by the side of the road or a 19 year old banged their 16 y/o girlfriend. The government loves to imprison people for insane reasons and sex offender registry is a poor guide as to whether someone can be trusted with children.
Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why is it important that a convicted child abuser be free to take care of children once their punishment is over? There are plenty of other fields in which they could find employment.
I don't believe in having multiple classes of free citizens. If a free person wants to, they could easily abduct a child, barring them from taking care of kids is a laughable feel-good policy that insults the notion that there should be no free second class citizen. If someone can't be trusted to not abuse children, they need to be jailed or on probation until they can be trusted. Those people can't be trusted in pub…
There is a huge grey area. Statistically, people who have committed a crime are more likely to commit crimes again than those who haven't.
That makes for a good argument not to trust them as much, generally speaking.
On the other hand, integrating them back into society (something that's lacking in the US) works well for most.
Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?
#128I can't just walk into employment with my skillset because I'm not particularly talented Maybe in the world of cybersecurity where a lot of the talent is (from my outside perspective) pretty top end. For most tech industry jobs, you'll be way overqualified and the rest of the team will be in awe.
In my experience a huge proportion of security roles are filled with checklist cowboys/girls. The cadre of people you're thinking of is a small part of the set.
Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't believe in having multiple classes of free citizens. If a free person wants to, they could easily abduct a child, barring them from taking care of kids is a laughable feel-good policy that insults the notion that there should be no free second class citizen. If someone can't be trusted to not abuse children, they need to be jailed or on probation until they can be trusted. Those people can't be trusted in pub…
There is a huge grey area. Statistically, people who have committed a crime are more likely to commit crimes again than those who haven't. That makes for a good argument not to trust them as much, generally speaking. On the other hand, integrating them back into society (something that's lacking in the US) works well for most.
Which do you think is harder though, adbucting some kid into a stolen untrackable vehicle and go out into the wilderness where there's no chance in hell you'll be caught, or going to the trouble and length of becoming a childcare worker where your face and likely other details are exposed? Someone who is free can easily do the former, and with a stolen SSN and identity (this is laughably easy to get if you've ever worked in many factories you'll see tons of illegal immigrants with stolen SSN) can also easily do the latter.
The whole premise is just laughable at face.
This think of the children trope is just bait IMO to try and get us to accept that there are second class citizens, and allow us to put restrictions and loss of freedoms on people who have completed their judicial punishment. If we can accept this we might accept ending their constitutional rights such as the right to vote, bear arms, or speak freely.
I understand the desire to protect children in this manner, I just think it's misguided and philosophically inconsistent.
Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, once someone makes a mistake they should absolutely be barred from gainful employment forever! That will teach them... that they should remain criminals. Yeah!
Yeah. Well, No. A physician who harms his patients through negligence or malice gets struck-off. A lawyer who steals his clients' money gets disbarred. A banker who mismanages his clients' funds loses his banking licence. If any of those was found guilty of using information from their clients to blackmail them, they'd have no future in their chosen trade - ever.
Sure, but presumably they weren't working as a security engineer at the time.
Or think of it this way...
Could someone not be a doctor if they had assaulted someone before medical school?
Would a lawyer not be able to be admitted to the bar if they had been convicted previously?
I'm actually not sure about those, they both might not be allowed. I just lean on the side of forgiveness once you've "paid your debt to society".