A new year has just begun. If you’re feeling restless in your job or just want some situational job market awareness, it’s a good time to check out the following five cities for defense jobs in 2018:
Huntsville, AL.
Search the jobs in Alabama on ClearanceJobs.com, and you’ll find 847 open positions in Huntsville…out of the 939 open cleared positions in Alabama. We sung Alabama’s praises earlier this year:
“Huntsville, Ala. happens to be one of those underrated cities in America when it comes to building a career. Of course, you have to have fantastic air conditioning or enjoy the muggy heat for most of the year. If you can move past that, the place has a lot to offer for technology careers. The city is known for it’s love of aerospace engineering, military technology, and all things missiles and rockets. But aerospace programs involve entire teams, not just aerospace engineers. A software engineer can easily find a great job market in this city.”
Colorado Springs, CO.
Colorado Springs currently has 316 open cleared positions. Or head north and set up shop in Littleton, CO, just outside of Denver – the location boasts 273 open cleared positions.
“When I think of Colorado Springs and the military, I immediately conjure pictures of soldiers at Fort Carson,” writes ClearanceJobs.com’s Jennifer Cary. “However, there is a large Air Force presence in the area that’s contributing to the worldwide mission. Here are five things to consider about working for the Air Force in the Colorado Springs area.”
Cary explains that the area provides options with multiple Air Force bases, as well as a variety of positions. While the area isn’t as cheap as other places, it can be a haven for the adventurist.
San Diego, CA.
While the rest of the world hunkers down for the winter, get some sunshine in Southern California. Out of the states 2,000+ open cleared positions, San Diego is offering about a quarter of the positions with 587 openings. While there are many positions due to Naval Base San Diego, principal homeport of the Pacific fleet, opportunities for IT and engineers also abound. Maybe the beach is calling your name…or the fish tacos….or the sunny, comfortable weather. Whatever it is, individuals with a clearance can find great jobs during the day and live a life that feels closer to a vacation on nights and weekends.
Washington, D.C.
You had to know this would be on the list. With 1,893 open cleared positions, the city boasts of many opportunities for entry level or administrative positions, as well as numerous IT, cybersecurity, and engineering cleared positions. The benefit of so many listings is the ability to move around and not feel stuck, while not giving up on finding cleared work. Of course, if D.C. isn’t to your liking, it is really easy to hop over to Maryland or Virginia to find your next job. Cost of living is a common complaint; however, if you are looking for opportunity and the ability to move around, check out Washington, D.C and its surrounding areas.
Orlando, FL.
While Tampa, FL offers an impressive 300+ open positions, surprisingly, Orlando, FL has twice that many open positions right now. Orlando boasts of big name contractors, like SAIC, Northop, L-3, Raytheon, Boeing, and many more. The area is a hot spot for simulation and training, as well as a range of other cleared positions. While the tourists can be a drag, at least hurricanes are less of an issue in Orlando than in coastal Florida. The good news is that locals can hit Magic Kingdom, water parks, or even Legoland at the right times while tourists are out of town. There’s a reason why the tourists frequent the Orlando sites – it’s because they are fun!
Bonus round: keep your eye on Texas, specifically Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Grand Prairie. Those three locations offer over 800 open cleared positions out of Texas’ 1150+ open cleared positions. If you have big dreams to live in Texas and want to use your clearance, it’s worth checking out.
