Best Southwest cities for jobs with security clearance in defense and intelligence.

1. Best Southwest Cities for Defense
By Tranette Ledford and ClearanceJobs
Average Security-Cleared Earnings
Location Salary
Phoenix/Tucson $74,668
Colorado Springs $85,395
Dallas/Fort Worth $77,317
Source: 2010 ClearanceJobs Compensation Survey
Phoenix, AZ
While some bad unemployment news is coming out of the southwest
region, there’s no need to jump to conclusions. Most of those figures
are tied to the housing market and the building and construction
industries. The job market for security-cleared professionals throughout
the southwest is more than healthy. In fact, nearly 60 percent of
security-cleared professionals received an increase in compensation in Key Opportunities in Phoenix/Tucson
the past year, according to ClearanceJobs 2010 Compensation Survey.
• Contracts Manager
Arizona, with 361 days of sunshine per year, also offers a great job forecast. • Information Assurance Analyst
The climate, open spaces and open skies are tailored well to the needs of the
state’s two major military installations; Fort Huachuca, home to the U.S. Army • Program Manager
Intelligence Center, and Davis Monthan Air Force Base, which serves primarily • Intelligence Analyst
as an air combat command. The state’s defense activity continues to draw
• Site Security Officer
new businesses and job opportunities for those with a clearance. This trend is
equally matched by the high-tech industry which is also faring very well in the • Electronic Warfare Technician
state. In fact, the American Electronics Association ranks Arizona fourth in the
• Software Engineer
nation for semiconductor employment.
• Systems Administrator
Phoenix
New construction and new jobs abound. The city is putting in a state-of-the-art
rail system at a cost of more than $1 billion, and Phoenix continues to be a hub
for aerospace, bioscience and technology driven businesses. It is now one of
the top 10 metro areas for aerospace and defense manufacturing.
More than 300 aerospace-related companies are based in Phoenix and its
surrounding suburbs. Honeywell, Orbital Science, General Dynamics and Boeing
are big employers of security-cleared workers, as is Arizona State University,
which collaborates closely with industry contractors and NASA. Other high-tech

2. businesses include Intel, Oracle, JDA Software and Suntron, all of which look
for security-cleared job seekers, particularly those with skills and training in
electronics, nanotechnology and integrated software solutions. Another sector
that keeps its eyes open for security-cleared professionals is the bioscience
industry, which has grown more than 20 percent in less than a decade.
“We regularly see employers
“On ClearanceJobs.com, we see continual need for security-cleared willing to train someone with the
candidates in a very broad range of disciplines for the greater Phoenix area,
including Tempe and Scottsdale. Everything from information technology and
right clearance but an incomplete
engineering, to finance and program management are typical open positions. skill set, rather than hire someone
The fact that most of the open jobs only require a Secret clearance means with the level of skills desired but
more opportunity for a wider audience wanting to take advantage of the
Arizona defense boom.” no clearance.”
Defense-related businesses continue to be lured to the Phoenix area, both for
—Evan Lesser
Founder and Director of ClearanceJobs
the jobs and the quality of life. It has a reasonable cost of living and a median
income of more than $50,000. It’s also one of the youngest cities in America,
with the average age being a ripe 33 years old.
Tucson
Like Phoenix, Tucson houses hundreds of aerospace and aviation-related
contractors; Bombardier Aerospace, Global Aircraft Solutions and Universal
Avionics Systems, to name a few. It’s also home to Paragon Space Development
Corporation, one of the top engineering companies in the nation. In this
sector, engineers and project managers are highest in demand. The city also
counts around 1,200 high-tech companies employing some 50,000 people doing
business in the areas of computers, software, Internet services and systems
integration.
Tucson’s biggest employers include Raytheon, with more than 11,000
employees, the University of Arizona with more than 10,000, and state
agencies, which employ more than 9,000. Security-cleared job seekers are
in great demand in everything from administrative, logistics, operation and
management careers, to those trained in research and development and
emerging technologies.
Many of the area’s defense contractor giants are continuing an industry-
wide trend of partnering with smaller, specialized contractors, a trend that
directly affects the area’s job market. For example, in June 2009, BAE Systems
acquired Tucson’s Advanced Ceramics Research. This partnership furthers new
possibilities in the production of unmanned aerial vehicles.
Tucson still has a relatively small population. The city proper has just over
half a million residents. Desert resorts dot the landscape, as do golf courses
and affordable houses, with the median home price in 2009 at $156,000. The
economy is strong and the salaries are good. For example, product managers
and experienced software engineers can earn above $80,000. And six-figure
incomes are common for security-cleared personnel in senior-level positions.
Colorado Springs
Cold, mountain air still draws winter sports enthusiasts, but it’s also been a
target region for the military and defense community. Along with the U.S. Air

3. Force Academy, the city hosts NORAD, Schriever Air Force Base and Peterson “Given our aerospace and defense
Air Force Base. Together, they account for about 20 percent of the area’s
workforce. Fort Carson, the Army’s third-largest military installation, is also industry, so many of the businesses
just south of Colorado Springs. Due to the nature of the military activity in the in the Colorado Springs/Pike’s Peak
state, defense contractors have relocated in droves.
region are interested in retired
The hottest fields for security-cleared personnel are currently in homeland members of the military, and those
security and aerospace. Defense dollars have continued to flow into the state, who are separating, because of their
increasing the job market for cleared personnel more than twice the previous
year’s rate.
skills and the fact they have some
level of clearance.”
“Given our aerospace and defense industry, so many of the businesses in the
Colorado Springs, Pike’s Peak region are interested in retired members of the —Brian Binn
military, and those who are separating, because of their skills and the fact President, Military Affairs Division, Greater Colorado
they have some level of clearance,” said Brian Binn, President, Military Affairs Springs Chamber of Commerce
Division, Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. “If these companies
can tap into that talent and also avoid the expense and the long wait to get
someone cleared, it’s a win-win.”
Recent partnerships between defense agencies and Colorado Springs businesses
Key Opportunities in Colorado Springs
have opened up new opportunities for engineers, researchers and developers,
and project and program managers. For example, the Office of Naval Research
• Geospatial Intelligence Analyst
is working with Colorado Engineering, while the Defense Supply Center has
partnered with AMI Industries and Air Force Materiel Command is collaborating • Information Assurance Security Specialist
with Lockheed Martin. Smaller businesses are benefitting as well, with the
• Software Engineer
opening of the Procurement Technical Assistance Center, which is dedicated to
helping small businesses make their way into new contract opportunities. • Mission Operations Analyst
• Support Tech
The Colorado Springs Economic Development Corporation, which works to
draw new business enterprises and job seekers to the region, reports that as of • Electrical Engineer
2009, there are 27 Fortune 500 companies based in Colorado Springs. They put • Personnel Security Specialist
the labor force within an hour’s drive at 3.2 million workers, and tout the city
as a place where “the skies are blue, the mountains are green and the financial • Systems Engineer
statements are always black.”
Dallas/Fort Worth
While Texas serves as home base for a number of major military installations
in all branches of the service, none are situated in the heart of North Texas.
Still, the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex holds good job prospects for security-
cleared professionals throughout Garland, McKinney, Richardson and several
dozen other cities and towns. The draw for the region centers on the high-tech
industry. In fact, the Metroplex has the largest cluster of high-tech workers in
the state – about 43 percent. This prompted Forbes to cite the area as one of
the most productive regions in the country.
As a technology and telecommunications hub, the Metroplex is home to
giants like Southwestern Bell, Nortel and Ericsson. Other industries with
opportunities include American Airlines, the area’s largest employer, with
more than 26,000 employees. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics follows, with
more than 15,000 employees. Also represented here – Verizon, Electronic Data
Systems Corp., Raytheon, Bell Helicopter Textron, Northrop Grumman and L-3
Communications.

4. The city of Dallas reports that jobs highest in demand in 2009 and expected
Highest Cleared Earnings By
for 2010 include enterprise architecture professionals, systems engineers,
software engineers and information systems security administrators. Other Job Category Nationwide
good prospects are in program management, technical writing and contract ’10 Earnings
negotiation. Program, Project Manager – $125,784
Engineering
IT Databases – Admin, Architect, $118,482
or Data
IT Program/Project Management $111,642
IT Software Programming $106,766
Telecommunications Engineering $105,139
Electrical Engineering $104,982
Aerospace/Aviation Engineering $103,733
Program/Project Manager $103,444
IT Network/Systems Security $99,158
Intelligence Analyst, Linguist, or $90,222
Interrogator
Human Resources Generalist/ $87,311
Recruiter
IT Hardware – Admin, Architect, $85,994
or Support
Dallas, TX
IT – Testing/QA $85,733
IT – Telecommunications $85,661
Logistics – Supply, Procurement, $85,545
Cleared job seekers at all levels can expect the job market easy to maneuver, Acquisition
as employers often value the clearance more than the skills. Law Enforcement $76,626
Facility/Personnel Security $68,289
“We regularly see employers willing to train someone with the right clearance Administrative – Clerical or $65,612
but an incomplete skillset, rather than hire someone with the level of skills Secretarial
desired, but no clearance,” states Evan Lesser, founder and director of Source: 2010 ClearanceJobs Compensation Survey
ClearanceJobs.com. “From a timing perspective, an active clearance can be
more valuable to an employer with existing government contracts that need to
be fulfilled.”
Along with the healthy job market, another lure for prospective employees
remains the quality of life in and around Dallas. The cost of living is much
lower than the national average, and housing slumps didn’t affect the region
to the extent they affected much of the country. Thus, it has one of the least
expensive housing markets in the nation. A 2,000 square foot home in McKinney
can be purchased for about $160,000, and in north Dallas for about $250,000.
As for salaries, IT project managers can command between $70,000 and
$95,000 depending on skill level, salaries about equal to those of aerospace
engineers. Software engineers earn between $80,000 and $90,000 on average,
while engineer managers command six-figure incomes.
It’s the numbers that put the southwest region in the lead, when it comes to
the best of the ups and downs – a low cost of living, lower than average housing
prices and high salaries. ★ ★ ★
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