I am in my early 20's and have concerns that my felony for drug possession when I was 18 will come back to haunt me in my pursuit of an engineering career. I was wondering if anyone knew how difficult it is for an engineer to be hired with a felony conviction. Should I choose my college major based on whether I can find employment in the field with a felony conviction?

Hello raven:

Well, I'm just guessing, but let's say that it's 5 times harder for a felon to find an engineering job. All that means is that you'll have to work 5 times as hard to find it. Good engineers don't have to look very hard for a job. Let's say that a non felon graduate has to do 5 interviews before he finds his job. You'll have to do 20.

Big deal.

excon

Yes and of course there will be some jobs esp those that require a government security clearnance that you can't get. And in some jobs it will be harder again to get bonded.

And again what type of engineer are you going to be.

Most likely if you are looking at jobs in aircraft or military weapons, it won't be a choice.

I am a principal engineer for my company and I hire engineers.

I do not ask about school grades or criminal history. Most of the time I don't even look at a resume until the interview and even then I only really look at the experience. I look for work dedicaton and a good fit. I know senior engineers that give sample questions or ask physcology questions to candidates but I tend to trust my judgement instead. Larger firms may have a human resource department that do initial screening. I would tend to keep away from larger firms if I wanted to get hired for my future potential and not my past!

I know from my start and from friends how hard engineering is to get into. I am white and it was hard for me. It doesn't seem to matter if your white, immigrant or whatever, it is just a hard profession to get into unless you know someone.

The main reason I don't look at grades or criminal offenses is because the fact that you're an 'A' student with no criminal record just means your lucky. I am lucky!

raven_creator,

Your story is oh so familiar. I was in my early 20's and also had a felony conviction for possession and went on to become a engineer. I agree with EXCON's advice, you will always have to work harder than anyone else but if you have bounced back from conviction and headed to school then you know what I mean already. I just took what I learned from my "ugly" past and applied that same determination towards school. I graduated with honors and went on to get my Master's in Mechanical Engineering. I had to apply and do many interviews but did find that people would give me a chance. It has been 16 years since my conviction and I have been out of college since 1999 and have a steady job. I am married with 3 children and have no complaints. I will say that you just have to work harder and want it more than anyone else. Remember it was you who dug the hole and it is you who will succeed by climbing back to the top. But never feel sorry for yourself there is not time for that when you have to prove to everyone that you are capable of great things.

In the private sector it should'nt be a problem. In fact, it could even help you (a la Affirmative Action.) If you were ever assigned to work on a government project then there could possibly be a glitch. A lot depends on the agencies involved, time since the incident occurred and the severity of the offense.

You may have to rethink how you pay for your education as well, because if you are applying for federal student aid, your conviction limits what types of financial aid you can get.

And if all else fails, you could go to work for Tommy Chong engineering new types of bongs and pipes. Just imagine, a bong with a jet engine attached to it! I designed a bong with a high powered leaf blower attached. Leaves the old "Shotgun" in the dust dude! Blows everything off the coffee table though. Cigarette butts and empty beer cans all over the floor. I could use an engineer myself come to think of it. Do you have any bong experience dude? Send me your resume.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by raven_creator

I am in my early 20's and have concerns that my felony for drug posession when I was 18 will come back to haunt me in my pursuit of an engineering career. I was wondering if anyone knew how difficult it is for an engineer to be hired with a felony conviction. Should i choose my college major based on whether or not I can find employment in the field with a felony conviction?

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I also was convicted of a felony when I was 18. I graduated college and thought everything would be fine. The past is the past, or so I thought. I have since been let go of several jobs once the background check came back, even though it was 7 years ago my explanation always falls on deaf ears. Rules are rules they tell me. I am in finance, and am exposed to sensitive material but I was convicted of assault and drunk driving, not fraud or embezzlement. I wish you luck, if anyone can offer any suggestions on how to move on from the past my ears are wide open!

Drug charges are light and you can apply for a certicate of relief also known as an article 23 through the court you were convicted in.

And if you were 18 it was a youthful offender charge, you can become a cop with that, all you would need is your disposition stating the charge. Raven creator don't worry about it, just stay on the right path.

I agree with many of the above posters. I don't know how similar the software engineering field is but the only time I've even been asked to submit to background investigation was when I went to work for a bank.

So the field is probably the determining factor.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Forgiveme

Drug charges are light and you can apply for a certicate of relief also known as an article 23 through the court you were convicted in.

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This is a 2006 thread, reopened in 2007 - should be closed. OP is long gone.