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Old 08-27-2013, 09:25 PM
 
20 posts, read 24,713 times
Reputation: 10

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Well to make a long story short, I was considering getting an MPA as I am interested in government and government jobs. I have student loans from my bachelor's in History and due to interest and collection costs it is now 60k. I got it take care of for right now and I am currently on an income based repayment plan. Well, I thought about going for a goverment job and I knew the MPA would help, however, I have been arrested twice. Once was for family violence(was dismissed) and the second time for criminal mischief. There is a 5 yr span between both crimes, and on the 2nd one I got deferred adjudication and it's a class b misdemeanor.

The problem is that I just looked up government jobs where I worked at, and almost all of them require a CJIS, which is some criminal justice system thing and they actually say that if you have a family violence, Class A or B misdemeanor OR deferred adjudication for a class A or B misdemeanor then you will be disqualifed for the job! I mean, I thought places only cared if you had a felony? Well I just found this out today and I really really want the MPA degree but I am going to have to take another 10k in loans to get it and now I think I may not be able to work in the goverment now which totally sucks, I didn't realize that it was this hard to get a job in the public sector...I am only 7 classes away from the masters...so what do you guys think that I should do? Should I finish the degree and try to get a job doing something else? Or should I just walk away and leave it behind?

P.S. My friend just told me that I could do non profits and that they would help forgive student loans! Does anyone know if non profits do background checks like the government jobs do?

Last edited by jackofalltrades33; 08-27-2013 at 10:27 PM..
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Old 08-27-2013, 10:20 PM
 
4,787 posts, read 11,698,626 times
Reputation: 12757
You are in a pickle for sure. Poor critical thinking skills and bad decisions are really coming back to haunt you. I'm not sure if you can even get more loans if you are already in default. However, I'll leave that for you to explore. A CJIS background check is one run by the FBI ( used by govt. agencies ) rather than one run by private investigative firms.

Yes, many. but not all, not for profits are less likely to run a background check or may run less extensive checks.

Yes, you can get some student loan foregiveness if you work for certain not for profits. However, you have to have a record of making 120 payments in a timely manner first. You just can't take out loans and walk away from them.

Here's some info on the loan foregiveness

Work for a nonprofit and student loans are forgiven! - Nonprofit Association of the Midlands

Public Service Loan Forgiveness | Federal Student Aid
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Old 08-27-2013, 10:28 PM
 
12,064 posts, read 23,107,524 times
Reputation: 27161
I would finish the degree program. Pay to have a background investigation run on yourself through a background investigation company and see what pops up. Most civilian employers are only interested in convictions. See if your criminal mischief record needs to be expunged (this will not hide it from local, state or government agencies but it will not appear on most background checks).
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Old 08-27-2013, 10:30 PM
 
20 posts, read 24,713 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by willow wind View Post
You are in a pickle for sure. Poor critical thinking skills and bad decisions are really coming back to haunt you. I'm not sure if you can even get more loans if you are already in default. However, I'll leave that for you to explore. A CJIS background check is one run by the FBI ( used by govt. agencies ) rather than one run by private investigative firms.

Yes, many. but not all, not for profits are less likely to run a background check or may run less extensive checks.

Yes, you can get some student loan foregiveness if you work for certain not for profits. However, you have to have a record of making 120 payments in a timely manner first. You just can't take out loans and walk away from them.

Here's some info on the loan foregiveness

Work for a nonprofit and student loans are forgiven! - Nonprofit Association of the Midlands

Public Service Loan Forgiveness | Federal Student Aid
Hi, thanks for your response. I didn't explain myself very well the first time, but I got my loan out of default by making 10 payments per month on time and now I am on an income based repayment plan. The loans are bad, but they are not what's really worrying me, what's really getting to me is the background check. I did check a few other smaller cities and they didn't seem to run this kind of check nor did they mention it. Is this something that is just done in certain cities of a certain size perhaps?

I am not trying to walk away from my loans, but I would like to work in a non profit, pay for 10 yrs and then have them forgiven.
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Old 08-27-2013, 10:33 PM
 
20 posts, read 24,713 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by joe from dayton View Post
I would finish the degree program. Pay to have a background investigation run on yourself through a background investigation company and see what pops up. Most civilian employers are only interested in convictions. See if your criminal mischief record needs to be expunged (this will not hide it from local, state or government agencies but it will not appear on most background checks).
Yes, can you recommend to me what place to use? when i look up stuff in google it seems like every place is just a scam. When I have looked up my name, I don't get anything...I mean I found the first arrest, but not the second. I think they told me if I did the deferred adjudication that it would go away for the second one, but I am not sure. For the first one, it was dismissed or I was found not guilty, I don't remember.
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Old 08-27-2013, 10:44 PM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,834 posts, read 30,898,649 times
Reputation: 47122
You really need to clean up the debt at this point. I would clean up the debt FIRST then evaluate my options. Going into more debt to get more degrees because you can't get a job is no solution to anything.
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Old 08-28-2013, 09:13 AM
 
1,263 posts, read 3,269,219 times
Reputation: 1904
Quote:
Originally Posted by Emigrations View Post
You really need to clean up the debt at this point. I would clean up the debt FIRST then evaluate my options. Going into more debt to get more degrees because you can't get a job is no solution to anything.
Absolutely.
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Old 08-28-2013, 09:41 AM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,114 posts, read 80,205,776 times
Reputation: 56963
Quote:
Originally Posted by LOL_Whut View Post
Absolutely.
I agree. Most public agencies (have been a manager at two) will do credit and background checks now for all positions. With our clearance procedures here both your credit and arrests would eliminate you from consideration even without the other. The FBI is more thorough than a P.I. and they don't miss much.
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Old 08-28-2013, 10:05 AM
 
1,939 posts, read 2,147,225 times
Reputation: 5620
I have to second the opinions on the debt. Even without the misdemeanor, you have a huge pile of school debt to clean up before considering another degree.
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