Background: 140k TC, 26 years old, 4 YOE in cyber, Bachelors in Cyber, TS/SCI, all experience at a prime contractor on extremely technical work and have AI dev knowledge.

I see a ton of people with a similar background to me posting online and various job postings looking for my exact background all making 200k+.

The main benefit of my job is I woke 40 hours and go home, but I am fine working more if it means I’m making 300k.

Am I living in a fairy tale where people aren’t actually making 200-400k with my background, and these postings just aren’t real or something?

I got a job offer contingent that i can obtain and maintain a security clearance, its not required to start. The issue here is that this position i would have to relocate, find a apartment etc..

My fear is that i have an extensive criminal record, i was arrested 4 times by the time i was 18 for various drug use and intent to sell. Also in the past 2 years I had a medical maryjuanna card. I am 25 now, have not had any criminal record since and really changed my life. But i will plan on being honest filing out the form. But i guess im afraid of accepting the job, moving to another city and then i lose my job because the clearance was denied and now i'm stuck in a lease in a city with no job. Should i just not accept it so i dont risk uprooting my life?

Timeline:
July 29: Accepted job

July 30: SF-86 submitted

July 31: Fingerprints submitted

Aug 18: NBIS Portal showed submitted for processing

Aug 28: Investigator interview

Aug 31: Follow-up call

Sept 22: I checked with FSO and was told I was in adjudication

TS/SCI granted: October 20

Held no clearance before

Never was notified of interim for some reason. When I checked in on the 22nd I was told I had a secret clearance granted so far. Couldn’t start work with interim or secret so it didn’t matter much to me.

No real red flags. A few trips abroad for tourism and dual citizen in-laws.

Honestly, thought I was gonna be waiting a lot longer, but the whole thing took about 12 weeks.

I leave for basic training soon (army) and I’m wondering how is the process of me getting my clearance. Will I have a face to face investigation? Will I have a temporary clearance while in ait?

Anyone take a poly and have high blood pressure, a stroke or TIA in the past? Did you have to get medically cleared or a modified screening?

From roughly 2020 into 2021 I worked remotely and moved between short-term Airbnb rentals around the U.S. (stays ranging from a couple of weeks to a couple of months). I kept a permanent mailing address the whole time but wasn’t physically living there. From late 2021 to mid-2022 I also spent several months abroad, moving between countries.

I want to report this accurately without making the residence section unreadable. For those who’ve dealt with similar situations (especially COVID-era remote work):

1. Did you list every short-term rental as a separate residence, or only stays above 90 days?
2. Did anyone list their permanent mailing address for the period and explain the temporary stays in the comments, and did that hold up in the investigation?
3. For extended time abroad, did you report it as a residence, as foreign travel, or both?

I have complete records of every stay, so I can list them all if that’s the expectation. I’m just trying to understand what investigators actually want.