As of two days ago I passed my 1001 A with plans to complete the big three by the end of the year. 10 years in retail management and spending my early 30s getting back to figuring out who I was through therapy and getting off booze and drugs. For the longest time I never thought I could do the IT road because where I live (Northern VA) area it is pretty much all government contract and you have to have a clearance. Now that I have passed half my A (Used Jason Dion and Messer videos that’s it) and definitely have the tech bug (My industry is tech just retail tech) I am setting my sights a month or so down the road when I have my A and am actively working towards my Network . I have been doing a lot of research on the paths and am still kind of undecided. I think I am more of a network person, but cloud systems seem super interesting as well.

I just want to know is there anyone out there who is like me? Who has a past that they recently changed drastically and when sitting in front of an interviewer might have to explain it especially for a government clearance. My resume otherwise is pretty good. I went to a very good college and graduated, worked my way up to a leadership position in my last couple of jobs and my most recent job that I have been with for the last decade I worked my away up to assistant management in half the time it takes most people. I have absolutely NOTHING on my record drug related or otherwise. I am incredibly lucky in that while I liked to party I was also super paranoid and never got into a single bit of trouble with the law. You would honestly never know it about me by looking at me in person or on paper that I had a coke and alcohol problem. I have heard from some folks that if you go for a clearance they ask you what drugs you have done with any date ranges and if you stopped why. I can definitely answer that question because I have been on a path to a better life since 2017 and thankfully at the beginning of f this year after many failures I was able to commit to putting down the white powder. Got engaged to my lady and now we both only drink here and there and are loving getting back to our authentic selves. Just wondering what type of scrutiny I could face?

If you have been through this process and have advice I would love to hear about it if you come from a similar background as me. A couple friends have just told me to omit it or change the dates since I don’t have anything on my record, but part of my recovery and my personal values is being up front that this was a part of my life. The second I start hiding and lying about it again is the second it starts to have power over me again.

Since I’m going in as entry level I am also not shying away from my local community college and help desk positions to get the wrench time in. I have been looking for some larger thrid party comapies that I might be able to work remotely for but have not seen anything really on the entry level side. Any and all advice is welcome! Hoping I might be able to help some others with this question as well. Thank you everyone for all the advice and just general knowledge that comes from this sub. It has literally helped me change my life.