[ QUOTE ]
I've been charged with a federal crime and COULD have to do 5-10. It wasn't a violent crime or a sex crime, and didn't have anything to do with stealing money. What are the chances I'll get the job?

Keep in mind... I've only been CHARGED (i don't know if that matters)

[/ QUOTE ]

Let me echo and amplify what DespotInExile said here. You need to keep your eye on the ball. I worked in the Federal Court system for two years, and if there is one thing I learned is that folks who are indicted for drug conspiracies are screwed, and, in some ways, the low-level guys are screwed most of all.

The mid-level guys will have lots of useful information that the government wants and needs to nail the top-level guys. So they get the best deals. The top level guys have tons of money for the top defense attorneys, plus in a desperate pinch they can give up their overseas suppliers. Sometimes they go down but it was also amazing to me to see how often they got deals, as well -- not deals that got them out of doing time, mind you, but deals that made the difference between hope of getting out with part of your life ahead of you and a certain life term.

The low-level guys often wait far too late to give information, and therefore don't have anything useful to the the AUSA. So they get the book thrown at them.

IMO, you should be talking with your lawyer about whether you should set up a meeting with the Govt. The Sentencing Guidelines reward cooperation and guilty pleas and punish folks that proclaim innocence, go to trial, and lose. Moreover, only the Government can give you the magic 5K1 letter that could enable you to avoid jail altogether even if you are guilty.

The fact that you are exploring job opportunities while this is going on suggest to me that your lawyer hasn't explained the facts of life to you yet.