b'Regardless of the barriers, an individual who wants a national security position needs to begin the application process well in advance. The entire process, including security clearances (and the polygraph, if applicable) can take as much as a year or more. Both the Office of Personnel Management and the US Congress are trying to expedite the application process, but it remains a fact that entry into private industry is much more streamlined. The flip-side of this is that departure from a private business is also streamlined. Acceptance into national security work, especially in a position that requires cover, severely restricts what you can say about your work and may require you to lie about what you do. Many new employees underestimate the impact that work status has on themselves and their families. Questions regarding what spouses can say and with whom they can socialize can assume significant importance. For those going overseas, you must consider whether it is realistic to expect to have a two-career family when you will be moved around the globe every two or three years. Many people are uncomfortable with being unable to tell the truth about what they do. Some overseas assignments do not permit spouses and family, although this can also apply to some jobs in the private sector as well. Government and Private-Sector Analysts Compared on Key Characteristics 4CharacteristicsCIA AnalystPrivate-Sector Analyst OrganizationPublic financed,For-profit enterprise; nonprofit, bureaucratic,working in a cost center; hierarchicaloften a flatter hierarchy DutiesWell defined,Defined but more flexible predictable, based on career service Client BaseEstablishedArea for development in communication to policymany firms; not necessarily makerswell established InformationClassified and openMainly open sources Sourcessources WorkCollaborative internallyIndependent internally and Environmentand more limitedmore collaborative externallyexternally Job SecurityStableContingent on the business cycle and evolving needs 4Michael J. Ard, Lessons Learned for the Private-Sector Intelligence Analyst, in The Academic-Practitioner Divide in Intelligence Studies, eds. Rubn Arcos; Nicole K. Drumhiller and Mark Phythian, (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), 129.16'