what is involved in a "Secret" clearance?

What are some disqualifying factors?

A track record of criminal behavior. Debt - not paying past debt or an overwhelming amount that might make a investigator think you are a liability. Defaulting on student loans. Etc. Those are the main factors.

Secret is easy. Basic background, criminal, debt, an overwhelming amount wont put you out. I had $32k in student loans, and $15k in credit cards and still got my TS/SCI.

A side note to debt, most debt you have prior to enlisting you can drop your interest to 6% thanks to the Service Members Service Relief Act or something like that. But some companies make it a pain.

What reaserch project or Defense contractor could get clearance, to use H.A.A.R.P and Direct Enery in the Midwest without proper Oversight. These persons have been using D.E. on civilians to carry out personal vendettas and to esculate medical conditons.They steal the medical information from example, Beaumont Hospital in Michigan in 2006 and Veterans Hospital 2006 and then are able to esculate any medical condition with Direct Energy. They also have stolen Government information for their personal gain.

And your point is??? I smell Troll meat in da house....

For approximately two months now, I have been focusing on going into Nuclear Power. But just today, my recruiter calls me and tells me to consider intel. He's giving me a couple of hours to give an answer. I don't know much about the intel rating, but from what I can gather, there is a top secret clearance. I do have a charge on my criminal record that is only two years old. And from what I have read, to obtain a top secret clearance is to have a clean background. Will I be "blocked" from intel later down the road?

Without knowing the nature of the charge and what actually happened, no one can tell you the degree to which it might negatively affect a security clearance determination.

You should review the "Adjudicative Guidelines for Determining Eligibility for Access to Classified Information" at http://www.state.gov/m/ds/clearances/60321.htm and read the section on "Criminal Conduct."

The standards for granting a Top Secret clearance are exactly the same as the standards for a Secret clearance. Many intelligence position require a TS clearance with SCI eligibility. For SCI eligibility only the standards regarding foreign connections are more stringent than for a Secret or TS clearance.