I was laid off from my job a little over a year ago. I am going back into the reserves as a flight engineer. I have finished my physical and everything and just waiting to hear back, but the recruiter sent me an e-mail stating that i need to fill out paperwork for my security clear and she said if I have marks on my credit that they need to be explained. My thing is that the economy is crap and i really only have knocks on my credit from my student loans. Will this prevent me from getting in?

Thanks

I was laid off from my job a little over a year ago. I am going back into the reserves as a flight engineer. I have finished my physical and everything and just waiting to hear back, but the recruiter sent me an e-mail stating that i need to fill out paperwork for my security clear and she said if I have marks on my credit that they need to be explained. My thing is that the economy is crap and i really only have knocks on my credit from my student loans. Will this prevent me from getting in?

Thanks

Generally student loans are considered "Good Debt" and I have never heard of anyone getting grief for having them. That is assuming you have paid them on time. Ask your recruiter for specifics.

They really just want to know if you owe a proverbial shite-ton of money to anyone or are in over your head so that they can analyze whether or not you will be a security risk (i.e. you can be blackmailed or bribed into giving secrets). So as long as you aren't giving ZJ's out by the freeway to pay your loans off, you should be fine.

I believe bad credit is the number 1 reason security clearances are denied.

I believe bad credit is the number 1 reason security clearances are denied.

I just got my clearance interview less than a month ago. I asked the investigator what the deal is with bad credit and clearances. He said he interviewed a person who declared bankruptcy 4 or 5 times and still got a clearance. He said it really wasn't a deal breaker.

BF

Correct. The purpose of the credit check is to determine if you owe a rediculously large amount of money and are unable to pay said amount of money (making you a risk in the eyes of the government). Don't know what the threshold is, but I'm assuming you'd have to be pretty bad off for them to be concerned about it.

This topic has been talked about ad nauseum, and I'm surprised it's lasted this long. For your convenience....

Credit Problems

Security Clearance Problems

Debt Frustration

So as long as you aren't giving ZJ's out by the freeway to pay your loans off, you should be fine.

If you don't know what it is... You probably can't afford it.