For this episode of the Security Clearance Careers Podcast we are joined by Teresa Shea, who has served more than 35 years in intelligence and defense within the public and private sectors. She served as executive vice president of technology and director of cyber reboot at In-Q-Tel, and prior to that, she had a distinguished 32-year career with the National Security Agency (NSA) ending as the director of signals intelligence.
She’s currently the president of Oplnet LLC and serves on many boards as an advisor with a passion for a safer and more secure nation. For this episode, we bust some notorious myths about working in the Intelligence Community and how to get a job at NSA.
Tips on Getting a Job at NSA
Katie:
Well, and we’re honored that you are taking the time. And so with your career, I mean obviously a lot of ClearanceJobs listeners are going to be those that are working either in the Department of Defense or Intelligence Community. So I’m sure they’re excited to hear a little bit more about your insights. And particularly for me, I really care about the next generation that might be listening and maybe doesn’t have a clearance yet. And so let’s first talk about some myths within the security clearance process. Obviously ClearanceJobs, we try to provide a lot of content on policy updates, ways to speed up the process. And so let’s talk about some myths that you may have experienced in initially obtaining one and maybe some about the background investigation process prior to adjudication.
Teresa Shea:
That’s a great question, Katie. And let me first say thank you. Thank you for being out there and really promoting this idea of working in a intelligence agency or in the Department of Defense, or even with one of the multitude of supporting contractors, et cetera, all of which of course require a security clearance. But having done that myself, I just can’t be a bigger fan of encouraging folks to have some time in this area. But I wanted to start… I mean, you bring up what can be a sticky issue, which is sort of the actual process for the security clearance, and if we could just start with a little bit of context. So the largest security agency conducting security investigations today is the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. And they are not well-known, but they’re definitely moving out on new initiatives, including one that’s been now in the works for a couple of years called the Trusted Workforce 2.0.
And Katie, I know you guys have had some information about that out there, but there’s basically seven categories that they’re going to implement this continuous vetting around. None of these should surprise anybody, but let me just remind everyone that includes terrorism activity, foreign contacts and travel, financial activity, criminal activity, any credit issues, public records, and then eligibility. And when they say eligibility, they’re talking about things like, are you a US citizen? I think most of these are obvious. And the most important thing you can do when you’re going through this process is just to be completely honest. If you’re guilty of something, tell them. It’s better to get all of that off your chest. And much of it probably is irrelevant, but it’s much better to get it all out there and make them aware instead of them discovering it in their investigation process.
You mentioned Katie, myths. A couple of consternation issues that I’ll bring up that continue to really plague people, I think is the first one, marijuana. So we all know that marijuana is a legal substance in many states across the country, but it’s not a legal substance at the federal level. So it is considered at the federal level today, still a criminal activity. So you cannot be partaking in marijuana moving forward once you decide you’re going to go through this process and work in one of these clearance-required jobs. Now, the way I understand it, the policy for the clearance states that past, I’ll call it recreational drug use, is not a deciding factor. So that’s why I say if you’ve partaked in the past, just admit it and just recognize that you have to stop partaking as you go forward to gain a clearance. So that’s where we are today.
Watch this space because it’s constantly changing, but that’s where we are today. The other one I just wanted to bring up is this foreign contacts and travel. Because Katie, as you know, we’re a very global world today. You’re working sometimes alongside individuals from different countries. Certainly, now that we’re past this pandemic, people are back traveling overseas, and all that’s awesome. The focus here for the security clearance is on enduring contacts, but you really shouldn’t try to determine which of your foreign contacts are enduring or not. Instead, I’d recommend you just report all of your foreign contacts, even the minimum engagement as well as all of your foreign travel. That’s just being on the safe side.
And the final piece I wanted to mention on this question when you talk about myths is social media. It’s permitted that in an adjudication for your clearance, social media can be used. I don’t know that it’s widely used yet, but plan on it being more widely used. So just be aware of what you’re posting on social media. Think about it. Think about LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok, whatever you’re using, just think about what you’re posting out there because it will likely be used in the future. And I think sometimes people don’t really think about the entire world is going to be able to see this. So I always call it The Washington Post test. If you don’t have a problem with it on the front page of The Washington Post, it’s probably okay. But beyond that, I’d just sort of think about it.
Katie:
No, those are great points. And I think I’ve heard if your grandma wouldn’t appreciate it, maybe don’t post it. And so those are great myths or just content surrounding drugs, foreign contacts, and then yes, that social media piece. And I think one of the biggest myths is that adjudicators aren’t looking for a gotcha moment. And I think that just kind of came across in your theme of, just be honest. It’s better to be honest than for them to catch you in a lie because that personal conduct adjudicative guideline, that’s really important. And so let’s talk about myths. I mean, you ended as the director of Cigent at NSA. So let’s talk about some myths in obtaining a job at the National Security Agency or really myths about careers in general within the Intelligence Community.
Teresa Shea:
Yeah. Well, it’s not a myth that the hiring process is slow. That’s factually correct. It is a long hiring process largely because of the security clearance process. And I know many people out there are painfully aware of just how slow it can be. But again, going back to being a huge advocate for working in the intelligence agencies and DOD, I think it’s worth it. Look, the opportunities you’re going to get early in your career, the responsibilities you’re going to be able to take on, you just can’t compare them. And the difference you can make for the nation and our allies and knowing you’re making that difference, it just really is a rewarding, personally satisfying career. But they all do require this security clearance. And you’re in the business, Katie, so you know more about this than I do, but it can be a valuable asset for you going through your career because there’s so many. I was looking at your website, Katie, of all the job postings out there, there are just tons of listings of job postings. So it’s a great asset to have.
I’ll acknowledge that on the part of the agencies and the DOD, there’s a constant effort to streamline the hiring process within the policies and laws that currently exist. But for example, last year you brought up NSA. NSA had a stellar hiring year last year. They brought in tons of awesome talent. And good people want to work with good people, so what you get is great people to work with plus great mission. But my recommendation as you’re going through this hiring process is to view it more as a partnership, Katie. So it’s not like you against them. They want you too, and they’re working within certain boundaries, but if you view it as a partnership and that the HR department is there to help you, and apply as early as possible. And when I say early, I mean at least a year if you can in advance of your estimated, either if you’re graduating or when you think you would actually want to come on board.
And if you’re still in school, there are tons of student programs that you should consider. All the agencies really try to get the students cleared fast to get them into internships and to make those internship deadlines. So it’s a great way to get started. And then once you apply, go look at that SF-86 form. It’s online and it’s a form you’re going to need to complete for a clearance if you’re given a conditional job offer. And most of the intelligence agencies anyway ask you to enter the data using an online tool, but the time-consuming part is gathering all that information about yourself ahead of time. So if you start now, you’ll be better prepared.
I can still remember when I was going through this and you… I really struggled to get, for example, all the marriages in my immediate family, given all the changes. I realize that’s a personal problem, but it was like, “Really? Okay, now wait a minute. When did this one, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah,” because you need all the names of everybody that was in your immediate family. But those would be my recommendations. Don’t give up. It does come to an end.
Katie:
Sure. When it comes to the SF-86, list everything you can, and then if you have a strange family, I do. But just do the best you can. Like you said, don’t give up. And when you’re talking about coming out of college, man, it’s really making me think about the good old days. But coming out of college and thinking about an internship with NSA, I really wish… Maybe I lived under a rock at that point. I didn’t even know about NSA jobs. I wasn’t taught this even in high school, and I know that those are major recruiting tactics of the intelligence agencies today, which I’m just so excited about because we really do need to start earlier. Kids have so much access to information, it’s a lot to sift through. And so let’s talk more about working at NSA because folks might be listening across the country. Do you have to work at Fort Meade to support NSA?
Teresa Shea:
No. No, you don’t. This is one of the great things about NSA that it to your point is not well known. It’s a worldwide organization. We’re in San Antonio, in Augusta, in Oahu, and Denver. Those in particular are what we call cryptologic centers, and you can find them on the NSA homepage. You can apply to jobs in those locations right out of the gate. But I would also say, NSA is a combat support agency. Subset of the Intelligence Community agencies are also part of DOD, and NSA is one of them. So we have offices… NSA, I shouldn’t say we, I’m no longer there. But NSA has offices around the world with personnel deployed to, for example, all the major military commands and locations around the globe where there’s US military presence to support real-time support to the military customers.
When I was mentioning opportunity before, it’s just one of the great things about being in the IC is the opportunities to work at different locations. So I took advantage of that and was able to spend two years in London. It was just at a great time. I loved working out of the embassy there and met all kinds of different folks and still have relationships from my time there. Yeah, thank you for bringing that up, Katie, because I do think it’s viewed as being only a Fort Meade location, but that’s just not the case.
Katie:
Well, and that’s good to hear, especially if the Baltimore DMV area is not particularly attractive to you. So, all right, that myth is busted. You don’t have to be at Fort Meade for NSA. So let’s talk more about the security clearance process. This is a big myth that I hear a lot. And so if you work… I didn’t serve in the military, but in your opinion, is it a myth that you have to gain a clearance through the military to have a successful career in the Intelligence Community?
Teresa Shea:
No, that’s definitely a myth.
Katie:
For sure.
Teresa Shea:
You’re right, that’s definitely… And thank you for helping to bust that. In fact, I think military personnel, because we do try… A lot of the military personnel, we do transition to being civilians, but they typically have to do additional processing when they transition for their security clearance, depending on their level of clearance. Most of the military clearances don’t require polygraphs and most of the IC clearances do. So that’s an example of where it’s actually a myth in reverse where the military really oftentimes has to go through additional processing. But Katie, while we’re talking about this and the careers in the IC, I can’t help myself here because I get super excited about it. But can I take the opportunity just to mention a few additional benefits that-
Katie:
Absolutely.
Teresa Shea:
… may not be well known? And we talked a little bit about this or alluded to it. But the developmental programs, so I think the last time I counted NSA, for example, has 17 different development programs. These are programs where they bring you in and they allow you to rotate through different offices. Because as you can imagine it’s a very diverse set of missions and different kinds of opportunities for what you want to do, as you rotate through these offices, to include other locations. So let’s say you don’t know if you really like in San Antonio or not, you just want to work there for a few months to determine whether you like to live there, for example. You get the opportunity to do that in these developmental programs. And you do it as part of a cohort. So there’s a group, you’re in a class. So right from the start, you’re building a professional network that stays with you throughout your career, depending on after you guys finish and you graduate from the development program, how well you stay in touch. That’s not well known.
The second one I wanted to mention is this focus now really on wellness. And I know this is happening across the commercial space and the rest of government as well, especially since the pandemic. But NSA has instituted a civilian fitness program that gives employees up to three hours a week of paid time off to participate in wellness activities. Now this can be anything. You can be going for a walk, you can use the free gym at some locations. This has been a benefit for the milita… Well, I don’t know if you call it a benefit or a requirement for the military, but they’ve been doing this for a long time and I think you’re seeing a lot of the IC agencies now adopting this. And then the last one I just wanted to mention is sort of the time off. And I know many companies out there offer this infinite time off policy, but yes, just go and try and take infinite time off.
Katie:
Sure.
Teresa Shea:
Yeah. So look, the top annual leave category will give you 26 days a year of annual leave, vacation time, and an additional 11 federal holidays plus 13 sick days. So just think about that a minute.
Katie:
Wow, yeah.
Teresa Shea:
Yeah. For example, in 2024, there’s about 251 workdays. I know that because I looked it up. And if you’re at your maximum manual leave, you can take 37 days off just for fun. That’s over a month of leave a year. So I wanted to just plant the seeds for, because I think people don’t really know about a lot of that, and those are just some great benefits.
Katie:
Well, yeah, thanks for highlighting those. And yeah, I think it’s just kind of a misconception that, oh, I’m working for a federal IC agency, it’s work, work, work. And it’s like, no. Perspectives have really changed across government leadership, and like you said, the pandemic really helped to propel a lot of that. But I mean, those are some great benefits in addition to… I mean, if any listeners have the travel itch, I mean, that certainly seems like an opportunity at NSA as well.
Teresa Shea:
Yeah, absolutely.
Katie:
Well, from a woman’s perspective serving in one of those leadership roles at an agency, any myths that we could bust here for our younger generation who may think NSA just isn’t for them?
Teresa Shea:
Yeah, it’s for them. Thank you for asking this question because Katie, I’m a huge proponent of women and women in STEM, and anything I can do for anybody out there really that’s interested in working in the Intelligence Community, I’m happy to do. And I’m on LinkedIn, so reach out. I’m just so excited to see these women rising to the top. I mean, Avril Haines, as you know, is the director of National Intelligence now, and her deputy, Dr. Stacey Dixon, a fellow Georgia Tech grad is the deputy there. So here’s these women leading this complex suite of intelligence agencies, which is just super awesome.
And then you have Tonya Wilkerson, who’s over as the deputy director of NGA, and NSA just appointed its third female deputy director, Wendy Noble. And Wendy has had this just super impressive career. She served in multiple locations like we were talking about, including London, and also as executive director. And I can’t say enough things about Wendy. I know her personally, and she is just a great leader. I’m super excited to have her up there at the top. And I just think the IC is doing so much more to focus on women and diversity, especially in these STEM fields. We’ve come a long way. One of my favorite books is Code Girls The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II. Have you ever read that book, Katie?
Katie:
I’m not a reader, but it sounds fantastic. Maybe I’ll get the audiobook for that.
Teresa Shea:
Yeah. Well, I love that book because it’s kind of the history of women’s contribution to World War II and cryptography, laying the foundation for cryptography. And Caracristi, who was our first NSA deputy director female, is in the book as one of the cryptologists that was just instrumental in the code-breaking during World War II. So look, women have been making a difference in this mission for decades, and you can see now that they’re getting to the top. So as you’re coming into this as a woman, it’s for you. You can look up and see other women who have demonstrated success, have families and children, and they have helped each other, and they’re willing and able to help you. I’m so proud of all of them and super excited about just growing. I mean, we know for a fact that women bring a lot of different benefits to the table for, and in this mission in particular, you really need that creative curiosity that solves some of the hardest problems.
Katie:
Absolutely. I mean, like you said, we’ve come a long way when it comes to promoting women and diversity, equity, and inclusion, but we still have a little ways to go. And being a working mother myself, this industry is starting to be a little more… Shoot. And I was just trying to think of the word and I couldn’t think of it. This industry is a little more welcoming to that than when I first started in national security. So it’s something that I’m certainly happy about. And so, Teresa, thank you so much for joining me for the podcast today to bust some of these myths to try to get the next generation of, I’m sure, just such smart leaders interested in national security careers. So any closing thoughts you’d like to share for our audience?
Teresa Shea:
Yeah. No, thank you. Thank you, Katie. Look, here’s the bottom line from my perspective, the intelligence agencies and the defense communities need you. It’s a great way to get your career started or kick-started with great missions and great people. And I recognize you can probably make more money going somewhere else, but can you have the impact on your country for the better and the knowledge at the end of the day that you made a difference? And it doesn’t have to be a lifetime commitment, so I would highly recommend it. And there’s a couple of websites. Can I mention these websites, Katie-
Katie:
Absolutely.
Teresa Shea:
… to help candidates? So the first ones is just www.intelligencecareers.gov to help candidates see the full breadth of the IC. Just click on whichever seal you’re interested in. And then the student programs that we talked about is apply.intelligencecareers.gov\student-programs. And as I already threw out there, reach out if I can help you at all, because I’m happy to do so.
Katie:
Excellent. Well, everyone thank you for tuning into this episode of the Security Clearance Careers Podcast with Teresa Shea, former director of Cigent at NSA. For more Intelligence Community news and career advice, you can visit news.clearancejobs.com.
