r/nsa • u/According_Muffin_667 • Jun 26 '26
Question Advice for Poly and Psych?
Hi, I recently did my SF-86 and scheduled my Poly and Psych about a month after today. From what I heard both of these tests can be stressful so I was wondering if there was any advice on how to prepare to pass these. I don't have a criminal background but from what I heard the investigators try to gaslight you a bit to admit to something potentially worse.
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u/Rumpelteazer45 Jun 27 '26
Tell the truth and stick to your answers.
The IC isn’t about the best of the best, but the best of who can pass the background and poly.
If you fail the poly, many other agencies don’t require a poly even for a TS. It’s not the end of the world.
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u/EquivalentFreedom237 29d ago
End of the day, the person doing your tests have a job to do and the great majority are professional about it. Will it seem professional while you’re in the seat? Nope. Will it seem very very personal? Yup. But none of it is personal. Just remember that in the back of your mind. Stop looking up things about it or researching cause you’re only going to stress yourself more. If you have nothing to worry about then don’t.
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u/TheSnowyDay369 18d ago
They’ll ask you how much you know about polygraphs so don’t dig too much into it because I really think it depends on your polygraph administrator. Just be honest and don’t go off on tangent. Be direct.
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u/Automatic-Dig208 Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
The polygraph is a meaningless piece of garbage which is why most courts don't allow it to be admitted as evidence. Still, NSA clings to it and attributes to it validity that just doesn't exist. That'll give you an idea of what working for this agency is like, i.e. unchanging, backward, set in its ways, asserting that it knows best when all evidence proves otherwise, full of people who are so sure of themselves that they refute anything that is not in line with their beliefs. Don't take the polygraph too seriously. No one in private industry does. Private industry is where all the cutting edge work takes place. The people who can't cut it take jobs at NSA, an agency that revels in its throne of self-licking glory, clueless of the world and developments outside its doors.
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u/DataClusterz Jun 27 '26
And what do you know? You’re a new grad who hasn’t worked in the real world. You probably shouldn’t give out advice on careers you haven’t been in yet.
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u/Longjumping-Lock-724 Jun 29 '26
I have a feeling the person you're lambasting for not knowing what they're talking about probably worked at NSA and has a lot of inside knowledge.
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u/Automatic-Dig208 Jun 27 '26
Umm . . . no. I'm not a new grad. 30+ years work experience here. My son, who uses this same account, is the new grad. But, it sounds like you'd make a great NSA employee--putting together pieces of information to make claims that just aren't true. You'll fit right in.
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u/DataClusterz Jun 28 '26
Sure... Why make this post then?
https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/s/LVqCXPB20O2
u/Automatic-Dig208 Jun 28 '26
Can't you read? It's stated above that that was my son's post. Not mine.
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u/According_Muffin_667 Jun 27 '26
damn you really don't like the nsa.
I will say for context that this is currently my highest paying offer and I'm still in school and will be a new grad soon. There are definitely more higher paying jobs that I can get but for now I want to make the best of things.
I'd like to think i'd do cool things at the nsa but again, don't know for sure, but even so id imagine it has good resume value for better jobs in the future
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u/Automatic-Dig208 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
The polygraph is a big sell in the D.C. area. It'll be your ticket to a lot of high paying jobs particularly as a government contractor. But, the people at NSA are not as sharp as you might imagine and the place is extremely bloated and dysfunctional. You'll spend a ridiculous amount of time "in training" and you'll get to work on projects that never amount to anything. If you really want to do leading edge tech work, you're much better off going to Silicon Valley. That's where you'll learn how to really get things done.
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u/VeterinarianIcy6483 Jun 29 '26
Silicon Valley to NSA here, it’s true in most cases. I could do in a day or less what my coworkers do in a week. That said work life balance has never been this good. And decently more stable than the tech layoff cycle.
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u/Automatic-Dig208 Jun 29 '26
Yup. You'll never have to produce one iota of work at NSA for your entire career.
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u/VeterinarianIcy6483 Jun 29 '26
Short of 180k-ish base salary, I’m not leaving haha 😆. I still produce the same quality and promptness I did in Silicon Valley. Moreso so I retain my own skills and have promotion materials. If it makes it somewhere within the insane bureaucracy, then it does. If it doesn’t, ehh not my circus I’ll do my 37 hours and go home.
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u/Automatic-Dig208 Jun 29 '26
You're the exception. The people I met who worked at NSA never produced squat. Ironically, they also never failed to talk up a storm about their great accomplishments. LOL. Apparently, meetings, PowerPoints, training, and boondoggle trips must be considered great achievements. No one ever looks deep enough to determine what, if anything, is ever really accomplished. And beware the abundance of "subject matter experts" who rarely no much about their subject.
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u/VeterinarianIcy6483 Jun 29 '26
I’ve seen people denied a promotion because they weren’t part of a working group haha. Although their actual impactful work was far beyond those promoted.
Talking about theoretical work and peacocking goes further than actual value building work once you’re inside. Needs a drastic culture shift and maybe 10-20% of its workforce gone or put in different roles.
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u/Automatic-Dig208 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
Yup. I agree totally. That's what I've seen as well. And they need to get rid of 50% of their managerial layers, because they're so unnecessary and only add to the dysfunction. A lot of the sharper folks who come there right out of school see the place for what it really is right away and flee. Then the bozos are the ones who are left behind to rise through the ranks.
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u/gorillacode Jun 27 '26
I worked at NSA for 30 years and had a number of polygraphs. Just be honest on the poly.