The ways a DUI conviction may derail your career
There are many under-the-radar penalties stemming from a DUI conviction. One of them is how it may affect your career. Having a DUI on your record can take a toll on your professional life.
You may lose your job, see job opportunities shrivel up and disappear, or have clients and colleagues become former clients and colleagues.
Termination and job prospects drying up
Among some of the ways that a DUI charge and conviction may affect your career include:
- Missing work: You will have to ask for time off from work due to attorney meetings, court appearances, mandatory jail time, community service and attending rehabilitation treatment. This could lead you to miss a significant amount of work. Your employer may not be understanding.
- Fired from your job: Certain employers may have stringent policies that address criminal convictions. If you violated your employer’s code of conduct, you could face termination.
- Loss or suspension of professional license: Occupations such as attorneys, doctors, nurses, dentists, accountants, and teachers must follow certain state licensing requirements. A criminal conviction such as DUI leads to state boards reviewing professional licenses and, sometimes, suspending them.
- Loss of contract work: As a freelancer, you can pick and choose your assignments. A DUI conviction may halt that. Jobs may disappear in areas such as teaching, accounting, web design, writing and editing as well as serving as a job recruiter. Your clients may turn their backs on you.
- Loss of security clearance: Some employers such as Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC), or other governmental agencies may revoke or limit your security clearance necessary to do your job if you are convicted of a criminal offense like a DUI.
- Prospective employers lose interest: If prospective employers discover a criminal conviction during a background check, they may no longer consider hiring you.
- Loss or Restriction of Driver’s license: Whether you have a CDL or a standard driver’s license, if driving is your work or part of your job responsibilities, the effects of a DUI may directly impact your ability to perform your job.
Your career is important to you. A criminal conviction promises to represent a major obstacle as you seek new roles within your company or new employment elsewhere.
Not wanting to jeopardize your career
A DUI conviction brings penalties that are beyond the criminal sphere. It will affect your personal and professional lives for many years to come. Jeopardizing your career is not what you want. Seek a skilled legal ally who will attempt to get this charge reduced or dismissed. Your career may be at stake.