Police Record - Am I screwed for life??

What? No. Even if it wasn't sealed, no one cares.

Kids do stupid things, one mistake several years ago isn't going to kill your career. As long as there isn't a pattern of stupid behavior you should be fine. Don't sweat it and if they bring it up be honest about it.

Tell us the story, your post totally let me down after reading the exciting title.

Thanks guys for the great responses.....I used to think like Marcus said - it should not be an issue, I mean this is not related to anything that FINRA would consider a red flag -stealing, shoplifting etc. -just a drunken streaking bet ;) . Then I started hearing and reading about several cases where BB banks had withdrawn offers (eg http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081007165615AAqY1bq) for relatively minor offenses and DUIs several years back. Still no cause for concern? Would some sectors be more forgiving compared to others, maybe?

Thanks. Will do exactly that - be upfront about it. Let's see how it goes.

By sealed do you mean expunged? If not you should really look into that, I had a similar situation (just add a few more charges) and within a year I had it expunged it is no longer on my record at all, I even ran my own background check.

No it's not really expunged. You cannot expunge any record after pleading guilty in my state, no matter how minor the charge. Hence it is sealed from public view by an order of non-disclosure, but is still viewable to law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies. I ran an FBI check and it still shows. BTW for your situation, even many records expunged at the state level are still visible in the FBI database and can be accessed by finra and other finance employers. Just make sure your isn't.

Yeah, good point I also never pleaded guilty, so its probably a different matter. I would still say you are on the safe side...its not a felony so should be good.

Similar thing happened to me, luckily it was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor and sealed, like everyone said be honest if asked but otherwise dont worry about it, as im sure you know, WS is full of testosterone fueled maniacs who break the law all the time. Just a story to laugh at and drink over with your colleagues and buddies.

You could always just relocate to Australia or the UK. They won't have access to state police records- atleast I hope not.

@fully_amazing: How did you run your own background check?

Most people get fired over background checks b/c they lied, not b/c of the crime they commited. I have seen it several times before. The boss comes around the corner from HR saying if he had just told us about it, we still would have hired him.

If you have a problem, disclose it because if they find out, then it gets bad from there.

If you are a registered rep [FINRA series 7], and you get fired, it goes on your U-4. Good luck getting a job after you have, "Terminated for cause: failure to disclose arrest record" on your U-4.

Honestly, your problem is failry mundane. You didn't have a breech of trust , theft, or harm to an individual, you got drunk and were proably caught pissing in public. It was college, it happens.

This is a quote form the above link that sums it up nicely:

First, you would be screwed if you were convicted of a felony. Then your career would be over.

Second, you would be screwed if you were convicted of a misdimeanor that had anything to do with trust (eg, lying to a police officer, petty larceny). You might be screwed if you were investigated for the same issues (guilty or innocent) by a regulator.

Third, you would be screwed if you lied about your issues. Most licenses with regulators and employment contracts cover these covenants. Companies that do background checks also find these out. While it would be very tempting to tick the "no" box when they ask whether you have ever been investigated for any crime, don't do it. If found out later, you could then get the dreaded 'investigated' issue, whereupon you would be banned for life.