Despite the doomsday forecasts surrounding the s-word – sequestration – recent employment trends aren’t all that apocalyptic. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports several areas on the upswing with strong prospects for cleared job seekers.
While federal employment continues to trend downward, the opposite is true in local government. According to the BLS’ Industry Employment Analysis, released July 5, the number of local government jobs increased for the third month in a row. Between April, May and June, the total number of gains nationwide stood at 40,000.
The International City County Management Association (ICMA), advocates for local government best practices and promotes local government as ideal for transitioning service members. Like federal jobs, they offer opportunities for public service, meaningful work and competitive salaries and benefits. And increasingly, local governments are turning to security cleared veterans to fill a growing set of critical skills.
“Cities, counties and other local government are just beginning to realize the challenges surrounding cybersecurity and the ramifications on their operations,” said Tom Wieczorek, director, ICMA Center for Public Safety Management. “Many in the military have extensive knowledge about prevention of unwarranted snooping or manipulation of data which local governments may find useful. Connection to the web has opened local government to its citizens with a greater opportunity for transparency, while at the same time, exposing those same local governments to possible cybercrimes.”
In addition to cybersecurity jobs, Wieczorek also cited rising demand for geographic information systems (GIS) training.
“Many local governments are just learning the power of analytics possible using GIS,” he said. “Those with spatial analytics are in demand by leaders looking to deliver services efficiently, effectively, and with a sound decision process.”
Other factors also are changing hiring demands. Local governments are broadening their economic development strategies and partnering with federal contractors and regional military communities. And just as in the private sector, they increasingly see a link between security and IT skills.
The metropolitan D.C. region represents this trend well, with agencies in Northern Virginia and Maryland commonly giving preference to cleared candidates for positions that include engineers, geospatial analysts, IT project analysts, systems analysts and related tech jobs. Vacancies run up and down the Virginia map, from Roanoke and Fairfax Counties to the cities of Winchester, Petersburg, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. That demand is mirrored in Maryland’s Anne Arundel County and Baltimore City.
On the west coast, city agencies in San Francisco and Los Angeles are attracted to cleared candidates to fill multiple positions for engineers, program analysts and background investigators in departments ranging from aviation to public utilities and city planning.
As for salaries, cleared candidates with IT skills, from east to west, can earn six figure incomes. Those in supervisory positions can command more. For example, the opening for risk manager for the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power pays just under $160,000
The BLS reports that in both government and private sectors, demand for IT skills is expected to be higher than in most other industries for at least the next five years. The most in-demand jobs include IT program management, systems engineers, IT consulting, network administrators and software developers. As security surrounding IT jobs continues to be viewed as a critical need, cleared candidates can expect to have an advantage in this market.
