Step aside, sequestration-gloom.  If you’re interested in cleared federal jobs, don’t let the shutdown and recent furloughs push you to look elsewhere.  Government jobs with good salaries are still out there.  They just might not be where you think they are.

A recent analysis using data analytics reveals where government workers are most heavily clustered.  As a rule, high concentrations of federal workers follow major military installations.  But that doesn’t always mean large metropolitan cities.

If you want to serve as a government employee or federal government contractor, you may want to look strategically – and consider relocating to federal hubs.

#1 – Colorado Springs, Colo.

More than 16 percent of the workforce is made up of federal employees.  Not surprising when you look at the military installations nearby:  Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base (NORAD, Air Force Space Command and NORTHCOM), Schriever Air Force Base and the U.S. Air Force Academy.  All are among the city’s top employers.

An estimated 55,000 federal employees work here. While military installations commonly require cleared personnel, there are additional cleared federal jobs with the Defense Contract Management Agency and Defense Acquisition University.

As for pay, the salary gap is a big one. Security specialists earn six figures.  Highly skilled contract specialists and aerospace engineers earn government salaries of around $150,000.  On the lower end, Air Force budget analysts start at $38,000, range operations specialists earn around $60,000, and flight simulator training instructors earn between $57,000 and $74,000.

#2 – Virginia Beach, Va.

Federal workers make up about 16 percent of the workforce.  That’s largely due to Naval Air Station Oceana.  But right alongside are Training Support Center Hampton Roads, Joint Expeditionary Base East and Naval Air Base Little Creek.  Down the road, Norfolk houses the Navy’s Atlantic Fleet.

In all, some 144,000 federal workers are employed here.  A coastal community with low housing prices, current openings for cleared personnel include electrical, computer and electronics engineers earning around $70,000.  Industrial mechanics and equipment operators and builders earn hourly rates of about $25 or $52,000 per year.  Engineering technicians earn around $89,000.

#3 – Honolulu, Hawaii

Unquestionably, the nation’s epitome of paradise, it’s also rife with federal employees – 86,000 of them.

Given the significance of the state’s history and military association, Honolulu’s civilian defense sector is hefty with cleared opportunities in all branches of the service.  Installations include Hickam Air Force Base, Fort Shafter, U.S. Coast Guard ISC and Tripler Army Medical Center, ranked sixth among Honolulu’s largest employers.

Current postings in the Departments of the Navy and Air Force include financial management specialists, contract specialists, cytotechnologists, acquisition program managers and life cycle project directors, all of which command six figure salaries. In the Army, medical technologists earn between $70,000 and $90,000, and health system administrators earn six figures.

#4 – Washington, DC.

It’s true, DC’s federal workforce has been reduced. But more than 200,000 employees work in government agencies, many of them in positions that demand a security clearance.

The median income, $66,000, is $16,000 above the national average.  Federal salaries are similar.  According to the Office of Personnel Management, a GS8 (step 10) earns $60,000, and a GS15 (step 10) earns $155,000.

Virtually all military branches and defense agencies have a presence here.  But looking at it from the perspective of veterans narrows the field of choices.  In the most recent Partnership for Public Service roundup of best places to work in the federal sector, veterans gave high marks to agencies that also consistently hire cleared personnel.  In the top 10:  NASA, State Department, Department of the Navy, Department of Defense (and related DoD agencies) and Department of the Air Force.  To be fair, the Department of the Army came in 11th.

Cleared federal jobs currently advertised include IT, program and language specialists, computer and general engineers, operations research analysts, contract specialists, mechanical engineers and intelligence specialists.

#5 – Ogden/Clearfield, Utah

Hill Air Force Base may be the only major military installation here, but it employs some 13,000 civilians.

Current openings include IT specialists earning $50,000 to $70,000, and administrative technicians earning about $40,000.  Openings for higher salaries include electrical engineers earning $60,000 to $90,000, diagnostic radiologic technologists earning $70,000, and logistics management specialists commanding more than $145,000.

On The MAP

Once mapped out, the jobs look to run primarily across southern and western states.  Good choices also include El Paso, Tex., and San Diego, Cal., with a federal workforce of 10 percent or higher.  Cities with high concentrations of federal workers and businesses tied directly to the government: Baltimore and San Antonio.  And where don’t they work?  Bridgeport, Conn., Lancaster, Pa., and Grand Rapids, Mich., come in with the lowest percentage of federal employees – less than two percent.

 

 

 

 

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Tranette Ledford is a writer and owner of Ledford, LLC, which provides writing, editorial and public relations consulting for defense, military and private sector businesses. You can contact her at: Tranette@Ledfordllc.com.