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MEGA - Drug/Legal issues impacting school/job

If you only have a single charge you might be able to get it expunged.

That was prob already mentioned...
I'd also like to say that the offshore industry has lots of ppl with records. If all you have is drugs (nothing violent like assault) then you should be able to go to a coastguard exm
Center and request an mmd (merchant mariner document) when u list the charges on your app they will tell u what rehab u need to attend and what hoops u need to go through to get a document. Offshore industries can allow for
Ppl with small rap sheets and no colege to find careers makeing 40 to 120k per year depending on what u do.
 
Jerry,
When you applied to grad school did you have to answer the "conviction of a misdemeanor" question? If so, did you have to write a letter of explanation? I plan on becoming an SLP and I just recently got a ticket for a misdemeanor-petty theft. No court appearance yet, but I am worried now! I want to know what to expect. Hopefully the charges get dropped. I am trying to prepare for the worst case scenario. What should I do/expect , as far as applying to grad school. As far as the federal loans, I see you did NOT have issues with that and yours was drug related, so since mine was not drug related, than i should be okay with fin. aid right?
 
I do not recall having to answer any misdemeanor questions on my grad school applications. BUT.....I have a friend who applied to a bunch of PhD programs last year and one school in North Carolina did ask him about misdemeanor convictions. Don't let that scare you, though. Most schools do not ask about misdemeanors.

With financial aid, they only have a problem with felony drug convictions that occur while you are receiving loans. Since your charge is not drug related or a felony and did not occur while you were getting loans, you'll be alright.

Now quit stealing shit, keep your nose clean, and work on your education.
 
I was convicted of misdemeanor possession, and it had no effect of my financial aid. I could be wrong, but I think that it either only applies to felony charges, or if you were convicted of drug sales, because they don't want to give money to someone that was making money illegally. Again that's just what I remember from doing my research on the topic when I was going through the court process, and my personal experience with applying for federal aid after the conviction. The initial charge was a felony sale, but it was knocked down to a misdemeanor possession.

From another thread:
psychopath said:
"A student can regain eligibility, however, by completing a rehabilitation program that includes random drug tests."

"A student convicted for drug possession is ineligible for aid for one year for a first offense, two years for a second offense and indefinitely for three or more offenses. A student convicted of selling drugs is ineligible for two years for a first offense and indefinitely for two or more offenses."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-04-16-drugs-students_x.htm

Drug cases definitely. You can get loans with felonies in most states. (if not drugs).



"Even if you are ineligible for federal aid, you should complete the FAFSA because you may be eligible for nonfederal aid from states and private institutions. If you regain eligibility during the award year, notify your financial aid administrator immediately."
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/aideligibility.jsp
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I got federal loans less than a year after my conviction, but I did complete a treatment program which consisted of random drug tests. I can't recall if I ever spoke to someone about completing the program in order for them to grant me the loans. I was on a lot of xanax at the time so my memory was a bit foggy during that period, but since it was prescribed it didn't count as a positive.
 
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Inspirational stories of people who have turned thier lives around after convictions

I'm a convicted felon/ former heroin addict who has been clean for the last five years and been trying like hell to make things work. I have a felony conviction for possession. I re-enrolled in school and found some success reentering the work place. I have made progress but recently I have faced some opposition. A job interview I had (which i thought was in the bag) turned into a fiasco after the interviewer began to ask me very personnel and irrelevant questions about my background and kind of made me feel like a piece of shit. I am also having a tough time securing clearance by certain agencies to work in the mental health field. I have become temporarily disheartened by these experiences and would love to hear some stories that prove it is possible to turn it all around and secure a desirable career and life after fucking up.

Lets try to keep it positive
 
I'm in the process of recreating myself. Not by choice. I thought I would teach forever. Laid off in 2010. Ran out of unemployment benefits. After two years of researching want ads, I decided to go to the back of the line and start over in the medical field. The only placing ever REALLY hiring are medical industries

At 53 I am attending a pharmacy tech program. The girl who sits next to me is 19. Of the other classmates, no one is near 30. I'm changing my line of work and I'm hoping that I will be successful in my career change. I like to wear my hair down because it is very thick and curly but I have to wear it up, in my case a bun. I use chopsticks from china town to hold my hair in place but they are too festive, I can't use them anymore. I have always worn at least two dozen bracelets on each wrist. Now I can't wear jewelry. I love tie dye clothes and long hippy skirts, but pharmacy technicians can't dress anything like an English teacher, and our dark color scrubs are about as ugly as clothing can get.... so I'm eating the harsh and still moving towards my pharma tech certificate, regardless of my worries. My classmates labelled me the older lady, and I feel present grief at having lost my teaching career. I have to earn money, I can't get hired at McDonalds even, so I have a lot resting on my performance in the pharma tech program and internship.

It took a lot for me to decide I had to make a change. It has taken me a lot to get used to taking a class with very young adults. They are not in the predicament I am in so they aren't very serious and think I'm over the top serious. It's been hard to change my whole look because I don't feel like me in a Pharm tech outfit. I had to go to my doctor and get shots for every damn thing because I have no shot records anymore. I've had to give up weed for weeks because they drug test.

I haven't had charges against me. I haven't had anything to do with law except for our bankruptcy lawyers. I may not be turning it around on the same scale as a BLer who was once incarcerated and is now a popular business exec.

Nonetheless, I'm in the process trying to be successful again.
 
ugly said:
I'm in the process of recreating myself. Not by choice. I thought I would teach forever. Laid off in 2010. Ran out of unemployment benefits. After two years of researching want ads, I decided to go to the back of the line and start over in the medical field. The only placing ever REALLY hiring are medical industries

At 53 I am attending a pharmacy tech program. The girl who sits next to me is 19. Of the other classmates, no one is near 30. I'm changing my line of work and I'm hoping that I will be successful in my career change. I like to wear my hair down because it is very thick and curly but I have to wear it up, in my case a bun. I use chopsticks from china town to hold my hair in place but they are too festive, I can't use them anymore. I have always worn at least two dozen bracelets on each wrist. Now I can't wear jewelry. I love tie dye clothes and long hippy skirts, but pharmacy technicians can't dress anything like an English teacher, and our dark color scrubs are about as ugly as clothing can get.... so I'm eating the harsh and still moving towards my pharma tech certificate, regardless of my worries. My classmates labelled me the older lady, and I feel present grief at having lost my teaching career. I have to earn money, I can't get hired at McDonalds even, so I have a lot resting on my performance in the pharma tech program and internship.

It took a lot for me to decide I had to make a change. It has taken me a lot to get used to taking a class with very young adults. They are not in the predicament I am in so they aren't very serious and think I'm over the top serious. It's been hard to change my whole look because I don't feel like me in a Pharm tech outfit. I had to go to my doctor and get shots for every damn thing because I have no shot records anymore. I've had to give up weed for weeks because they drug test.

I haven't had charges against me. I haven't had anything to do with law except for our bankruptcy lawyers. I may not be turning it around on the same scale as a BLer who was once incarcerated and is now a popular business exec.

Nonetheless, I'm in the process trying to be successful again.
Click to expand...

Wow, heyyy, we're in the same boat. I just enrolled in a Pharmacy Tech program starting in October as well! I actually was just about to make a thread on it but nvm... I chose it because it's something I've been thinking about for a long while, but being all messed up on drugs (just got clean) I never went through with it. So they drug test you even during schooling?! Or only when you start internship and/or job? I've been thinking about the negatives of it too, but honestly my ass hasn't been working or doing ANYTHING for way too long, I've been fucking up hard in community college as well, so I kinda have no choice either, I need to get a salary going asap... How's the program going for you right now? Besides the whole crowd thing... don't worry about them youngsters! You're doing something productive and important and that's all that matters, and if I'm not mistaken the program isn't even that long :) I hope they allow us to wear a little bit of jewelry at least yikes!! No way I'm taking off my earring!
 
Reinventing yourself is never easy. There are a lot of obstacles to overcome regardless of the situation. I just tell myself that it is possible and the only difference between those that make and those that don't is commitment and perseverance.
 
Zerix said:
Wow, heyyy, we're in the same boat. I just enrolled in a Pharmacy Tech program starting in October as well! I actually was just about to make a thread on it but nvm... I chose it because it's something I've been thinking about for a long while, but being all messed up on drugs (just got clean) I never went through with it. So they drug test you even during schooling?! Or only when you start internship and/or job? I've been thinking about the negatives of it too, but honestly my ass hasn't been working or doing ANYTHING for way too long, I've been fucking up hard in community college as well, so I kinda have no choice either, I need to get a salary going asap... How's the program going for you right now? Besides the whole crowd thing... don't worry about them youngsters! You're doing something productive and important and that's all that matters, and if I'm not mistaken the program isn't even that long :) I hope they allow us to wear a little bit of jewelry at least yikes!! No way I'm taking off my earring!
Click to expand...

Zerix, you are still a green lighter after 2 years? WOW. You are very quiet... I feel a bit special that you wrote to me!

They drug test you because they don't want anybody who takes drugs in the pharmacy. I had that figured out... just common sense. I quit everything, my Klonopin for RLS, my antidepressants, everything.

Sure enough, tons of students failed their drug test because they came up positive for benzos. They are having to prove they have scripts. One person did NOT have a benzo script and was immediately dropped from the program, no money back and no getting back in.

I made sure. I bought three five panel tests and I tested clean at home before the random ever showed up. I went to the drug test knowing full well I was in the clear, even though I am a drug user. I use my head, you know? My instincts were totally keyed into the drug test. I knew they would test for benzos. I just knew it.

Several people have a medical cannabis license so they went in and tested positive for THC which is on the DEA schedule just like heroin, so no pharmacy wants people who are not in compliance with the DEA. Many of the prescriptions we deal with are on the DEA schedule at some level and have to be handled carefully.

People also had to pass a background check, and many didn't pass. Even a speeding ticket from 5 months ago which was paid put one young lady on a 30 day hold. She can't resubmit her request to intern until the 30 days are up.

I don't have record of any kind. I had no drugs in my system of any kind. I got all my vaccinations redone because I have no shot records from when I was a child. I got my TB tests done right away also. Everything that the instructor said we needed to have or do, I had it, or I got it done.

I start interning at a pharmacy four miles from my house on Monday. I'll be in the pharmacy M,W,F mornings and I'll be in Pharm Tech classroom T and Thr afternoons.

I love it. Drugs are so fascinating. I am learning about drugs from class on BL, and I am learning about drugs from BL in class. It is a TON of work, memorization, math (which is extremely challenging for me), and studying had to become mandatory for you. To memorize the drugs, the drug classes and generic names, takes millions of hours. We had a pop quiz on what we are suppose to know by heart, 45 drugs, today. I only missed drug classes. (I have particular trouble remember what's a beta blocker because I don't know what a beta is, or why it needs to be blocked. I asked the teacher, she said she didn't know, which basically means "google it, dumbass.")

Get off whatever you are on right now, and don't mention to ANYONE that you have any kind of experience with drugs. Be ready to learn drug names until you are blue in the face. Don't go to class late. You won't get a very good internship, possibly NO internship, if the instructor thinks you aren't punctual.

I did not question the rules of the program. I went along with everything and like I said, made sure I tested clean at home before the random ever showed up. I will have this five day a week schedule from now until the end of November. With NO money coming in yet, and no promise of money coming in.

I'm making every effort to cover my ass. I sit in the front, I make eye contact with the teacher, I take notes even though we are never told to take notes. I know from being a teacher what teachers like to see in a student. I am using every opportunity I have to make myself the ideal candidate for hire. I have to pass the state exam at the end of November and THAT is my main concern at the moment. I won't get my license from the state to actually get hired until I pass that test.

Let me know, inbox me, whatever. I'd love to compare programs, internships, and whatnot, if you feel like it.
 
if anything they might just make you have a co-signer

I dont think misdemeanors affect it though
 
the best way i can think of is to do something like software development/computer programming/IT stuff, and simply work for a company like google or any number of other websites. you can make a decent living off of it, work from home, and never get tested.
 
ugly said:
It took a lot for me to decide I had to make a change. It has taken me a lot to get used to taking a class with very young adults. They are not in the predicament I am in so they aren't very serious and think I'm over the top serious.
Click to expand...

Not to minimize your post but I just wanted to point out this minor part. I've been in various classes/apprenticeships where I've had older people in the classes with me and I never looked at this from their POV. Usually they were more serious and maybe this is the exact reason why. The stress a person must face knowing that their livelihood is on the line is never something I ever considered. You've definitely taught me something, so don't fret, you're still a teacher in my book. Thanks.
 
Also, to OP & ugly, I wish you each the best of luck. I don't have firsthand knowledge to contribute but IMO, you're both on the right track.
 
Ugly, it sounds like it may be a difficult experience for you, but you will become stronger because of it.
OP, I appreciated your story as well. Your story may inspire people to get their lives together.

When I was a boy, I had a friend whose father was a judge. Turns out that before that, he had been in prison for years, earned his GED in prison, got out and went to university at age 40 or something, then grad school to become a lawyer. After a decade or so being a lawyer, he became a judge.
 
This isn't me, but an acquaintance. He was at an infamous nightclub in Melbourne Australia and he got busted by an undercover policeman with ~5g of speed (powdered meth) and ~100 ecstacy pills. He didn't get any jail time but got a conviction on his record because it was pretty obvious he was selling the drugs.

Since then (this was about 4 years ago) he has created a very successful clothes & accessories business. He realized that it would be too hard to get a job at say a big firm, because with such intense competitiveness for places, a conviction can easily strike you out, so he took matters into his own hands. Basically he imports ridiculously cheap wallets, phone covers, bras, underwear, etc from Asia and sells them at hugely marked up costs online.

Of course to do this though you have to start with at least a bit of capital.

Take life back by the reins man, throttle it back into submission and normality. The great blessing is that often people have have gone through shit end up much happier when recovered than your average person, because they know what they're missing and appreciate life more.

Hope that's sort of somewhat inspiring lol. Basically my main point is that you can still do great things, you've just gotta be creative and have the energy. Many famous/rich people have had run-ins with the law and come back to make it big (Bill Gates for one).
 
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