Have clearance? Feds will pay big bucks

IT professionals holding an active federal security clearance are getting paid at least 20 percent more than their not-cleared counterparts, according to a new survey by ClearanceJobs.com.

The organization's 2010 pay survey found that Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.-based professionals with security clearances had average earnings of $98,542. California-based security-cleared professionals top the list as the highest-earners, with an average of more than $98,968 a year.

"The government plans to take on more than 270,000 new employees over the next few years--about 40,000 of those in D.C.," the survey says. "That surging demand will definitely impact security-cleared professionals locally and nationally as both agencies and contractors fight for talent."

Among those jobs needing security clearances are project managers, programmers, system administrators, business analysts and software engineers.

There was other good news out of the survey for job satisfaction. More than half of those with security clearances--62 percent--rated the highest level of satisfaction coming from employees and contractors in intelligence services such as the CIA and FBI. The lowest level of satisfaction came from cleared workers at the Department of Homeland Security.

For more on better pay with security clearances:
- see this Nextgov.com article

Related Article:
Security clearance salaries level off