I spent the last six months looking for a new job. Along the way, I was invited to a ton of interviews, actually attended some of them, was surprised at the lack of technical questions in most of them, received some offers, and came away even more impressed with the value of a security clearance (if that is even possible). In the end, I decided to go out on my own as self-employed independent contractor. This is the story of my job search, but even more, it is a story of the cleared infosec world: the stars are contractors, clearances and the chaos that ensues.