Survey: Security-Cleared Workers Earn More

Employees with security clearances can expect to earn almost 25 percent more than workers with similar skills and no clearance, according to a new survey by ClearanceJobs.com, an Internet-based staffing group for professionals with government security clearances.

Salaries for workers with security clearances have been on the rise since September 11, 2001, said Evan Lesser, director and founder of ClearanceJobs.com. 

“New initiatives in homeland security and defense and wars on multiple fronts, coupled with the newly proposed $439.3 billion government defense budget, have fueled the marketability for U.S. workers with active security clearances,” Lesser said in a statement.  “Additionally, security clearance jobs have defied the country’s slow employment trend, and currently there are more available jobs than cleared candidates to fill them.”

According to the survey, candidates with the highest level security clearances issued by the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Energy earned the highest average salaries of all respondents, between $92,500 and $102,500 annually.

Washington, D.C. represents a large portion of the highest paying areas, ClearanceJobs.com found, largely because it is the home of the Federal government and the majority of defense industry employers.  Average annual salaries in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia were $89,111, $77,108, and $70,072, respectively, according to the survey.

Here’s a list of survey highlights:

• Salary is directly proportionate to a candidate’s level of security clearance, with a higher level garnering a higher salary

• The metro D.C. area is the number one highest paid location for security clearance jobs

• Security-cleared candidates with polygraphs can expect to earn up to $10,000 a year more than cleared workers without one

• The salary gap between security-cleared male and female candidates is less significant than the gap between male and female non-cleared professionals

For the full results of the survey, visit ClearanceJobs.com’s site.

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