A recent ClearanceJobs survey asked nearly 500 candidates with active federal security clearance – who is your ideal cleared employer? Here are the top 10 government contractors and companies listed.
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Federal Government |
| 2. |  |
Lockheed Martin |
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Booz Allen Hamilton |
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Northrop Grumman |
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Raytheon |
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Vistronix
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SAIC |
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General Dynamics |
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Amazon |
In a recent survey of professionals with active federal security clearance, ClearanceJobs.com® asked candidates to provide their top choice in employers as well as selecting what attributes made them the best.
Cleared professionals ranked the Federal Government (which includes individuals who ranked specific agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security and CIA) as their top choice in employer. Candidates were also asked to rank which attributes they felt applied to their top choice employers.
“This list demonstrates the variety of career options available for cleared professionals,” noted Founder and President of ClearanceJobs Evan Lesser. “From government agencies to tech innovators, wherever your skills and passions align, you will find a great employer looking for your talent.”
Lockheed Martin’s strengths among respondents who selected it as their top employer were being an industry leader, offering challenging or interesting work, and being an industry innovator. In 2015 Lockheed Martin was once again named the government’s largest contractor, with $36.2 billion in obligated contracts in 2015.
Clearance: Required, Size: Variable
Amazon Web Services is approaching $10 billion in annual revenues, with a growing business as a cloud provider for the Intelligence Community and Federal Government. Vistronix has an estimated revenue between $150 and $200 million and provides software development and data solutions.
“We work very hard to be an employer of choice and provide competitive salaries, benefits, and a very innovative, entrepreneurial environment that candidates seem to like,” said Liz Alston, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Vistronix. “We’re proud to be able to compete on such a large scale with some of the biggest employers in the industry.”
One thing all of the employers on the list have in common? A high demand for cleared talent. Today, 67 percent of SAIC’s employees have some level of clearance.
“Hiring cleared professionals with a passion for the mission is very critical to us and our large employee base allows candidates to enjoy a work environment where they are among individuals with like skills and backgrounds,” noted Dan Harris, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Operations and Planning. “SAIC is a great place for technical talent … it’s good to join a company that is dedicated to our customer’s success.”
Keeping Job Hoppers Grounded
A whopping 80 percent of respondents had 10 years or more work experience. Twelve percent had five to less than 10 years, and fewer than 10 percent had 5 years of work experience or less. That said, the ‘job-hopping’ phenomenon is alive and well in the cleared workforce. Forty-seven percent of respondents noted they have been in their current job less than three years. And while salary, benefits and location topped the list of attributes cleared candidates are looking for in their next employer, location and manageable working hours were next on the list.
Caliber of staff, manageable working hours and office environment were the top attributes given by respondents who selected Northrop Grumman as their top employer.
“We work hard to promote an inclusive culture and work environment,” noted Mark Root, Corporate Director of Media Relations at Northrop Grumman. “Our technology heritage, from the moon landing, to cybersecurity leadership, to developing the first autonomous vehicle to take off from an aircraft carrier – and then land on it – is one reason many people find working here inspiring and meaningful.”
Survey details: Survey conducted in June of 2016 to 493 respondents with active federal security clearance.