Considering Doing A Crime? How A Felony Will Affect Your Life

Posted on: 10 August 2015

Share

If you are considering breaking into someone's house, stealing a car, selling drugs, or the many other things that can put a felony on your record, you should think twice about it. Unless your criminal defense attorney can get the charges lessened down to a misdemeanor, your felony will follow you around for the rest of your life. Below are three ways it will affect you.

 Employment

Your choices of employment are limited. Most employers perform a background check on potential employees, including looking at their criminal record. Once they see you are a felon, they may move on to the next applicant. You should not quit looking, as you will likely find some companies that will hire you.

You may have a better chance after a few years if you stay out of trouble. When an employer sees that you have stayed out of trouble for a few years, they will likely look at you much more positively.

School

If you are planning to go to college, do not plan to get any money from the government.  The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (US Department of Education) will not allow you to apply for scholarships and grants through them if you have had a drug conviction, or any type of sexual offenses.

Talk with the financial aid officer at the college you want to attend. They can help you with with obtaining student loans to pay for your schooling, as long as your felony is not related to drugs. They may know of some scholarships that can be awarded to you even though you are a felon.

Security Clearance

A security clearance is used to confirm that you are trustworthy and reliable. If you need security clearance to obtain a job in law enforcement, or any job that is justice related, such as the FBI, you may not be allowed to apply if you have a felony. If you are considering signing up with the military, you will sit down and talk with a recruiter face to face. Make sure you tell them about your felony. They will likely not allow you to continue with the process but it is worth a try. 

Ask your criminal defense attorney if they can get your felony charge expunged from your record. To remove your felony depends on if your charge was non violent in any way, and if you have not been in any trouble since your felony charge. This may not be possible, but you should talk with your attorney about it just in case.

To learn more, contact a law firm like Alexander & Associates, P.C.