Meditrome

Hello everyone,

I am 28 years old, a husband, and a father of two. I have been working in the construction field for over 11 years and am now trying to break into the PC repair/Tech field.

A little history of my current problem:
When i was 20 years old i was involved in trafficing drugs through central Florida, as any one can guess its only a matter of time when you are involved in this type of activity it is only a matter of time before you end up in jail.
I was convicted for felony possession of methamphetamine and marijuana. I was sentanced to 1 year of probation ( which I served without incident). I have changed my life entierly since, and have stayed Clean and Sober from the time of my arrest.

From that time I have gone back to school and persued my A+ certification. During my transition to my new life, computers and gaming enthusiasim became a much healthier hobby then my previous engagements. After a few years of helping family and friends with thier personal computer problems, a friend one day said to me "why dont you get you PC certifications and work in that field?" And thus here I am today.

Recently, I have had some great face to face interviews, where I have presented myself well both personaly and professionally. All of the hiring managers that i have met with seemed excited to meet me and everything felt so promising untill they get to the bottom of the Job application. Im sure all of you have seen that little box at the bottom of the page where it asks " Have you ever been convicted of a felony". I am required by law to say yes and explain my felonies. With that being said it did not matter how great the interview was or how excited they were to have a capable new Tech in the department:
ALL OF THEM COULDNT PUSH ME OUT THE DOOR FAST ENOUGH!!

I am struggling here to find a new place that will give me the chance to prove myself and it kills me a little more everyday to swing a hammer in the Florida heat to feed my family. Even though I am a Geek thru and thru.

Does anyone have any advice for me?
All I want is a job repairing, upgrading and troubleshooting personal and small buisness computers/networks.
As time goes on I lose more and more faith that there is someone out there willing to give a rehabilitated person like myself a chance.

Ericwaycotx

Hello Meditrome,

I would recommend you to speak with a lawyer about getting your conviction sealed. This means that no 3rd party can view your record, and by law you can deny ever having the conviction.

Hope that helps

Meditrome

Thankyou Ericwaycotx,

I have looked into it, the cost of have a record expunged or sealed can be quite pricey
But that is great advice. There are some lawyers that just do only that. But for them to even start the process they want money up front and make no promises as to if you can even get the record expunged/sealed. Also it takes a judge to ok the process even to get that far. And that only seals the court records/documents, and it does not seal an arrest record. So i am afraid to spend that money from my budget for this whole process, just to have my arrest files lurking in the shadows for a future employer to dig up thru a backgroud/credit agency. Also if these records are already on file, the companies that do background checks already have them....(but i am not a lawyer and could truely be sticking the proverbial foot in my mouth)

All in all thankyou for the input
If any one else who reads this has been thru a similar situation, i could definatly use some more input about expungement and sealing
Or perhaps the name of a good Florida Lawyer for this...maybe a .com or something to get me in the right direction

Thank you again for the advice Ericwaycotx

Ericwaycotx

Meditrome,

Honestly, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to get it sealed. Especially considering the amount of time that has lapsed since the conviction and your clean criminal history since then.

You can file the petition to seal the record yourself, without a lawyer...

I know here in texas there is a website that will pretty much pin-point all the disqualifiers for sealed/expunging a record (the requirements for expunging are much higher), that way you don't waste your time filing the petition to be let down anyways.

I would contact your county courthouse and ask for more information on how to file the petition.

Where did you hear that jumbo about it not clearing an "arrest record"?

When a company looks to hire you, they pay a 3rd party company to get your "criminal history background", that will show all previous convictions and arrests. However, IF an incident has been sealed, the company BY LAW CAN NOT DISCLOSE ANY INFORMATION REGARDING IT (including arrest and outcome), and you can legally DENY the incident of ever happening.

Meditrome

Awsome man, i didnt realize that i could personally start the petition for sealing my record.
Also i was told that the arrest record could still be seen by the lawyer i spoke to on the phone (And he wanted over a hundred and fifty dollars before he would even get started or pull up my file to tell me if i would even qualify) so i now am learning i was totally misinformed, and his integrity as a "good" lawyer has definatly come into the forefront.

After reading your last response, i started searching out the process for the "do it yourself" sealing procedures. They seem simple and i can get started for under 100 bucks!!. The statutes and exceptions are quite clear in Florida, and since my conviction had a "adjudication withheld" stamp on it, i am not a repeat offender, and it was not considered a violent crime things are looking promising

Your advice in this matter has been golden and i cant thank you enough for the time youve spent responding to my dilema.

Ill be sure to get back here and post a follow up as things progress

Golden man, Golden

-Meditrome-

Ericwaycotx

It's been my pleasure. People like yourself deserve a second chance and don't deserve to be labeled for a stupid mistake.

If you find anything else out send me a PM, I'd be happy to know what happens.

Monty Python

You make more money and have more freedom when you are a self-employed contractor. And your record means absolutely nothing in this case.

Cellus

There are both pros and cons to being self-employed. You may not necessarily have a steady income (which is important) and must do everything yourself. Everything. Not only that but you are the one solely responsible for getting clientele, and without a recognized company's name or backing, can very well be quite a lot harder than it looks initially. Also you may not infact make more money as while your gross income may seem higher, business expenses and such can make you turn a lower net income than expected. You do however have a lot more freedom - you make your own hours, follow your own rules and standards, and have a heck of a lot more control over things.

Meditrome

Hey,

Funny you both say that. I do make more money being a subcontractor, but its something i do out of neccesity not because i love it. Also my field of construction can be brutal and make your knukles bleed. When i am breaking into the IT field i will be taking a HUGE paycut, But money is not everything. Coming home aching and tired gets to you. Some days my hands hurt so bad i can barley close or open them.

Also construction is not something you do well in old age and eventually you must step back and start hiring people to do the work for you. My friends thats a gigantic headache in this field. Finding qualified, responsible, and drug/alchohol free people is quite difficult. Although i am young now and still have many years ahead of me. i am taking the steps to get out now while i still have the time to start fresh with a new carreer.

Like Cellus said: i have to sell my own work, do my own estimates, pick up materials, drop off materials, pay to have a workshop to store my tools, pay my own insurance, pay for work trucks, hire help when i need it, and still i have to do the work itself....all before i even make a single red cent. The overhead is ridiculus and the stress of it can break you down as well.

Man i really sound like im "bitching"!! hehe
Getting this felony off my record so i can move forward is very important to me.

PS
Ericwaycotx,
Im moving to north florida at the end of this month. Im working on the petition
but ill be moving so i need to file it when i have my address stable again. Just wanted to give you an update.

Thanks for everyones help,
-Meditrome-

Ozar

I am super curious, as I have had very similar problems with my criminal background, as to this website you referred to. By chance would you mind posting it or emailing it as I had no clue this existed. I am in Texas and I am truly hoping to do something along the lines of having mine sealed at the very least. Thank you for any and all information you may provide...

dm01

I don't think companies are allowed to discriminate solely on the basis of self-reported criminal offences, as long as the specific offence does not relate to the job on offer. However, if you show up to work higher than a kite, they reserve the right to show you the door.

Good luck with all of your sealings and expungings.