This year’s job market for cleared professionals is more stable over last year, pushing a handful of IT fields to the top of the list of high-paying skills. Cleared veterans interested in better than average salaries may want to update their resumes to ensure their skills and training match what hiring managers are looking for to fill openings in the second half of 2014.
Cybersecurity
Demand is high and still rising. According to Burning Glass, between 2007 and 2012, demand for cybersecurity professionals grew 73 percent. Cleared professionals with the best shot for these jobs are those who have a bachelor’s degree in information security and training or certification in network security, LINUX, UNIX, cryptography, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and system and network configuration.
Cybersecurity salaries already average $87,000, and cleared professionals generally earn more. Geography continues to be a factor, with salaries for cleared professionals averaging $117,000, in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia region. Looking at average salaries by specialty, cybersecurity engineers earn around $100,000; cybersecurity managers earn $107,000; and cybersecurity specialists earn around $80,000.
Demand for cleared professionals is highest throughout defense agencies and defense contractors. But private businesses are also stepping up cyber hires due to increased concerns about network vulnerability, as civilian employers increasingly value security cleared professionals.
Currently hiring: Barnett Engineering & Signaling Laboratories in Fort Meade, Md.; Clearability, Inc. in Annapolis, Md.; Foxhole Technology in DC; LGS Innovations, Florham Park in N.J.
IT Program and Project Management
Cleared professionals with IT backgrounds and experience in program and project management have seen the biggest jump in marketability. They also have seen the most substantial hike in salaries. Earnings now average more than $125,000, about 10 percent higher than last year’s figures. .
The job requirements are less about strategy and more about managing an organization’s IT goals. In a March, 2014 article published in CIO, author Joseph Phillips put it this way: “Managing an IT project is like juggling chunks of Jell-O: It’s neither easy nor pretty.”
Cleared professionals with a bachelor’s degree and program management certification are the most sought-after in government and government contractor sectors.
Currently hiring: USIS International and Key Logic Systems in Chantilly, Va.; C2 Essentials in Washington Navy Yard, DC; MCR, LLC in Brussels; Sedona in Toole Army Depot, Utah; Architech Solutions, DC.
Software Developers
The demand for software engineering skills continues to go up, leading to an unemployment rate that’s now among the lowest for all technology fields. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects faster than average growth for software developers for at least the next eight years.
Because these jobs have responsibility for testing, maintaining and refining software, the most sought-after skills include Java, C#/ASP.NET, C++, Python, PHP, SQL /MySQL, HTML5 /CSS3, Ruby on Rails, Hadoop and iOS/Android. Hiring managers also like candidates who can demonstrate curiosity, problem solving skills and analytics skills. Six figure salaries are the norm, and cleared software developers are averaging around $109,000.
Currently hiring: Morfologica, Inc., Stanley Reid & Company and ManTech in Reston, Va.; RingO Technologies, Inc. in multiple locations; Blackbird Technologies in Herndon, Va.; CGYS Consulting, LLC in Annapolis, Md.
Computer Systems Analysts
These are the folks who understand both hardware and software and how they work together. Systems analysts tend to juggle everything from configuring to testing, troubleshooting, assessing costs and benefits of changing or improving systems, and communicating these facts effectively to decision makers. Hiring managers look first for cleared professionals who meet knowledge requirements that include mathematics, engineering, computer skills and design techniques. But they also look for the soft skills: Critical thinking, the ability to collaborate, excellent written and oral communications skills and good organizational/time management skills.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects more than 100,000 jobs over the next eight years. As for salary, experience and geography both play a role. Cleared professionals should expect earnings on the high end, six figures and above.
Currently hiring: VPSI in Pensacola, Fla.; Aligned Development Strategies in D.C.; Enterprise Information Services, Inc. at Lackland AFB, Texas; SRA International in Warner Robins, Ga.
Database Administrators
DBAs are the detail guys. They are responsible for set-up, upgrades, test modifications and resolution to complicated problems. The growth in demand for DBAs is not as high as for engineers, but it does continue to inch forward.
Hiring managers generally look for undergraduate degrees in computer sciences, along with certification in database management, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, IBM DB2 and My SQL.
Salaries for cleared professionals can range from $80,000 to six figures. But every penny is usually earned, as most DBAs tend to work longer hours than those in other IT fields due to maintenance and update demands.
Currently hiring: Federated IT in Sandy, Utah; SSI in Ashburn, Va., E-merging Technologies Group in Reston, Va.; BCF Solutions, Inc. in Huntsville, Ala.
Salary data comes from the 2014 ClearanceJobs Compensation Survey.
