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Comment by at-fates-hands | Hacker News Reader

I actually thought the weirdest thing - how was a guy who was a high school dropout get a gig at the NSA?

Even small businesses won't hire someone unless they have a four year degree. I know its possible for developers to get a job based on being self taught. I highly, highly, doubt a government agency like the NSA would hire someone with such sketchy credentials.

My other real concern was brought up in the article. Once you're about to feel the full brunt of the United States Government coming after you, it's usually standard procedure to lawyer up. Considering this guy hasn't done so indicates he's not scared of whatever bad guys are coming after him. Which means, either he's really stupid, or he has no reason to be afraid.

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"I highly, highly, doubt a government agency like the NSA would hire someone with such sketchy credentials."

Absolutely. It's boilerplate on job descriptions for Federal jobs of any consequence. You can't answer the phones without having a four-year degree.

As discussed in another thread recently, the CIA hired him first and they are willing to take anyone who appears trustworthy. Eg, they'll take someone like Snowden who is not well traveled or educated and apparently patriotic, over an expert linguist who has lived in foreign countries a number of years and may have conflicting loyalties.

Disclaimer: I don't know this for sure, just repeating one explanation given in another recent thread about this.

>Considering this guy hasn't done so indicates he's not scared of whatever bad guys are coming after him. Which means, either he's really stupid, or he has no reason to be afraid.

He's been working with ex-Constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald since January. He is very well advised, and I'm sure he'll lawyer up if he ever finds himself back in the US.

how was a guy who was a high school dropout get a gig at the NSA?

He enlisted in the Army and got a security clearance, which is the credential that's really crucial for CIA/NSA/contractor jobs. The Army is willing to accept a GED, which you can get in an afternoon.

This is actually counter to what I've been told by several high ranking friends I know in the military. I have a family member who is a full bird Marine Colonel and he said they won't take GED candidates anymore. I also have a good friend who's a Senior Master Sergeant in the Air Force and said the same thing.

Here's an article from 2009:

http://www.nodropouts.org/blog/bad-economy-bad-news-dropouts...

"Army recruiters now tell potential recruits that their chances of getting into the service are not good if they don't have a high school diploma. And even a GED won't cut it in most cases."

I did notice the "in most cases" language, so maybe he got in on a pass from someone?

I did notice the "in most cases" language, so maybe he got in on a pass from someone?

Yes, that's what I mean by "willing to accept". If a person's ASVAB scores are high and they're not a total mess, they can get a waiver for many things. It varies by service, of course; I'm not surprised that the Marines and Air Force don't waiver GEDs.

Why lawyer up when you believe the outcome will be the same regardless? No lawyer can change the outcome. Better that he live it up until the inevitable happens.

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