ClearanceJobs' Security Clearance Compensation 2013

2013 ClearanceJobs COMPENSATION SURVEYTHE GREAT REBALANCEA comprehensive earnings survey of security-cleared professionals, with 16,300 respondents from October 2012 to January 2013 – provided by ClearanceJobs.

2013 Compensation Survey

Table of Contents

1 Key Findings

2 Compensation by employer

3 Military Compensation by Branch

4 Top Reasons for Compensation Increase/Decrease

5/6 Cybersecurity and Six-Figure Roles

7 Capital Region Compensation

8 Compensation by Government agency

9 Compensation by State

10 Clearance level Compensation


Key Findings

Washington’s push for slimmer government, combined with ongoing Congressional budget uncertainty and military rebalancing has negatively impacted take-home pay for security-cleared professionals. In 2012, compensation for security-cleared professionals on average dropped three percent year/year to $88,447, including a one percent decline in average salaries to $75,208.

These results, compiled from more than 16,300 professionals with active federal security-clearance, give employers, government leaders and the professionals themselves a comprehensive view of the new economic realities facing the defense, intelligence, and aerospace workforce. The top culprits for the decline in compensation include:

• Military compensation, likely due to fewer troops in war zones which lowers combat and danger pay’s contribution to total compensation;

• Security-cleared professionals who were new to their employer in 2012, as compared to that cohort a year ago;

• U.S.-based security-cleared professionals working outside the D.C. metro-area, particularly those based in Florida and California; and

• Those professionals who work for or contract with the Departments of Homeland Security or Justice.

While employers now have an edge over pay for security-cleared candidates, the report found notable exceptions including cleared cybersecurity professionals, software developers and project or program managers. There is a consistency amongst six-figure payouts – technology and engineering – where the opportunities for career advancement and financial rewards are vast.

Evan LesserManaging Director and FounderClearanceJobs.com


The Great Rebalance

Troop withdrawals from the Middle East and lower starting pay for security-cleared talent who are new to their employer are the top - but not the only - reasons compensation for security-cleared professionals dropped three percent year/year to $88,447 in 2012 from $90,865 in 2011.

The reductions in total compensation were felt across the security-cleared spectrum, from government employees, government contractors, military personnel, consultants to private business owners. And, it wasn’t just total compensation that declined - average salaries dropped too. In 2012, average salaries fell one percent year/year to $75,208. That marks the first time both average compensation and salaries fell in the same year.

To understand what’s contributing to the trend, the results indicate rebalancing by the military and by the defense industry has begun to weigh down take-home pay. Military personnel saw their total compensation drop more than five percent to $64,601, likely due to fewer troops in harm’s way which lowers the contribution of high danger and combat pay to total compensation.

Currently, there are about 68,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, following peak troop levels in 2011 of more than 100,000.

$83,930

-1.4%

-0.7% $99,796

-5.4% $64,601

-2.2% $117,703

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR

INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT

MILITARY

Compensation by employer


In President Obama’s recent State of the Union address, he announced that over the next year another 34,000 American troops will come home from the Afghan theatre.

A breakdown of earnings by military branch shows America’s soldiers in the National Guard and Army saw the sharpest drops in total compensation of 12 percent and seven percent year/year, respectively. That’s because a significant amount, about 40 percent, of a military member’s compensation package comes from sources other than base pay, and the circumstances to earn combat pay dissipated in 2012.

Security-cleared professionals who were new hires to their employers saw average compensation drop eight percent to $82,124 - the surest sign the defense industry is adjusting to new economic realities. In that group, base salaries fell seven percent to $71,021, as compared to cleared professionals in the same situation a year ago.

Equally as telling, those newly starting security-cleared professionals aren’t as satisfied with their new jobs. In 2012, one in five respondents (21%) reported being very satisfied, as compared to one quarter (25%) a year ago.

“The constant drumbeat of sequestration, budget wrangling, fiscal cliff and worker furloughs doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in workers,” said Evan Lesser, Managing

Military Compensation by Branch(yr/yr change)

$69,259air Force

-3%

2012

army $64,616

-7%

navy $68,531

Unchanged

-1%

Marines $63,995

-12%

natl. Guard $53,280


Director, ClearanceJobs.com. “It’s very hard to be security-cleared and optimistic about your career and the industries’ circumstances.”

Even with compensation declining, the news isn’t all bad. Nearly half (46%) of respondents received at least some kind of an individual pay increase, even though it might have been modest. According to that group, fatter paychecks were meted out based on personal performance (36%) followed by mandated pay increases, changing employers and internal promotion or rank increase.

About one-in-three (30%) security-cleared professionals saw no change in total compensation, as compared to 23 percent reporting the same for their base salary. But, for the group who saw no change, mandated salary freezes topped the list of reasons.

Of the security-cleared professionals whose individual compensation shrank year/year, changing employers ranked first, followed by decreases in danger pay/bonus. A tiny 0.2 percent related their reduction in pay to a lower security-clearance level or to losing clearance. As in many industries across America, furloughs were also a part of the decline in pay, with two percent reporting unpaid time off from work hit them in the wallet.

Personal Performance

Mandated pay increase

Internal Promotion

Reasons for Compensation Increase

36%

23%

15%

10%

6%4%

4%3%

CompanyPerformance

Changed Employer

Changed Positions

Deployed Other

Other

Changed positions within employer

Furlough

Changed employer

25%

45%

6%

2%

9%Company or entity performance

Reasons for Compensation Decrease

Decrease in danger pay/bonus

12%

It’s very hard to be security-cleared and optimistic about your career and the industries’ circumstances.— Evan Lesser Managing Director ClearanceJobs.com


Cyber$ecurity and $ix-Figure Roles

The opportunity for career advancement and financial rewards are evident in the growing field of cybersecurity. More than one-fifth of respondents (22%) confirmed they work on cybersecurity initiatives, including defensive or offensive measures. For that group, the average compensation totaled $101,198 in 2012 consisting of average salaries of $88,092 and $13,106 in additional earnings.

Those figures are likely the compensation baseline with the Pentagon moving toward a major expansion of its cybersecurity force, as reported in the New York Times. Cyber Command’s five-fold workforce increase, from 900 current employees to 4,900 cybersecurity experts, will strain an already limited talent pool. In fact, despite strong job satisfaction amongst cybersecurity professionals (64%), respondents are interested in testing the job market, with 36 percent of respondents noting it’s very likely they’ll switch employers in the next twelve months. More so, history shows cybersecurity professionals who switch employers can usually expect a pay increase at the same time.

Private sector companies have been investing in security as threats to their data and networks only increase every year, with some even enlisting cyber “SWAT” teams to provide offensive and defensive protection.

$100,746

$101,198

$101,816

$102,526

$105,476

$107,471

$114,917

$124,534RF Engin

eering

Cybersecu

rity

Teleco

mmunication

s Engin

eering

Aerospace

Engineer

ing

Other Prog

ram/Proje

ct Mgm

t

Software

Program

mer

IT Program

/Project M

gmt

Eng. Prog

ram/

Project M

gmt

$ix-Figure Payday


It’s that interconnectivity between government and industry that President Obama’s long awaited Executive Order, “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity,” hopes to strengthen by information sharing and establishing a framework of best practices.

When you look at the big earners, they all have one thing in common: technology and engineering backgrounds. Software programmers’ compensation rose nearly six percent to $107,471 on average. Software or systems engineers earn on average $108,064, but a bigger percentage of that pay comes from incentive compensation, when compared to their programming counterparts. Likewise, program or project managers for technology ($114,917), engineering ($124,534), or other projects ($105,476), continue to be amongst the best paid security-cleared professionals.

Other roles with six-figure average earnings: Aerospace engineering ($102,526, down 5% year/year), telecommunications engineering ($101,816, down 9% year/year), and RF engineering ($100,746, up 5% year/year).

While recent enrollment trends look slightly better, the industry is in a different kind of “T&E” gap. The number of computer-related bachelor’s degrees conferred annually, which in 2004 stood at about 60,000 per U.S. Department of Education statistics, fell to about 43,000 in 2010.

“By definition, security-cleared professionals must be U.S. citizens and we’ve had about a decade where young Americans either chose not to major in engineering or drop out from this course of study midstream,” noted Mr. Lesser. “In the short-term it’s wonderful for take-home pay, but with a scarcity of experienced security-cleared tech talent, open positions stay open – not an optimal outcome in the land of opportunity.”

— Evan Lesser, Managing Director ClearanceJobs.com

By definition, security-cleared professionals must be U.S. citizens and we’ve had about a decade where young Americans either chose not to major in engineering or drop out from this course of study midstream.


It Pays to Work in the Beltway

For those working stateside, data shows that Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia are home to the highest average compensated workers. Political leaders in the region have long attempted to concentrate the security clearance community in the Beltway, in much the same way as Northern California has become home to microchip and Internet startups.

Security-cleared professionals working in the Capital region (D.C., Maryland and Virginia) earned on average $97,952, essentially flat from the previous year. While salaries increased one percent year/year on average to $88,845, the amount of other compensation fell slightly from $9,789 in 2011 to $9,107.

While it has always paid to be security-cleared and near the seat of government, the compensation gulf between those in the D.C.-metro area and other parts of the U.S. is widening. In particular, compensation of security-cleared talent in Florida and California weighed down the overall compensation average. There are two prominent features of both markets: aerospace defense hubs and significant military installations.

Aerospace programs with high costs and budget overruns are most at risk for funding cuts, and these results indicated consistent and valid concerns around contract losses. Including returning military troops, Florida’s security-cleared professionals’ compensation dropped overall eight percent to $75,657 year/year. Likewise, there was

2011 2012

$97,

838

$97,

952

Other$9,107yr/yr -7%

Salary$88,845yr/yr +1%

Other$9,789yr/yr -15%

Beltway Breakdown

Salary$88,049yr/yr +6%


1 2Department of State

$107,743 +2%

3

Central Intelligence agency

$121,396+2%

4nSa Department of Defense

$ 97,411-1%

5 Department of energy

$ 96,089-2%

6 Department of Justice

$ 90,160-7%

7 Department of Homeland Security

$ 88,124-5%

$107,145Unchanged


a five percent year/year decline in security-cleared compensation in California to $83,440.

Security-cleared professionals working for defense contractors in California and Florida had sharp declines in average compensation, as well as in Texas and Alabama - two more states with significant aerospace defense programs. In Alabama, security-cleared earnings dropped six percent year/year to $80,691 and a similar impact was felt in Texas where security-cleared earnings declined two percent year/year to $72,142.

The aerospace industry’s workforce has been shrinking. A 2012 report from Deloitte, commissioned by the Aerospace Industry Association, found that the U.S. aerospace and defense industry employed about one million workers directly in 2010 (the last year available), down 52,223 jobs from 2008. While no comparable data is available for the last two years, Challenger, Gray and Christmas reports more than 50,000 job cuts have been announced in aerospace and defense during that timeframe.

ClearanceJobs.com identified 29 states and Washington D.C., with enough data from professionals currently employed and possessing active federal security clearance. The range of compensation varies greatly, from $58,839 earned on average in Kentucky, compared to $99,292 earned in the Virginia. For a state by state, look at security-cleared compensation, visit http://www.clearancejobs.com/files/salary.html.

The vast majority of survey respondents are based in the United States. But, foreign-based respondents accounted for about 10 percent of the study.

For those crossing shores, the pay difference compared to those working stateside was noticeable. The average total compensation for those outside the U.S. was $132,244 in 2012, nearly $3,000 less than the previous year.

Security-cleared professionals serving in Afghanistan reported the highest total compensation, averaging $155,010, down from $158,885 the year before. Iraq was next, with workers in-country averaging $148,634 in total compensation, down sharply from $163,577 in 2011. Dropping closer to the six figure mark, earnings for security-cleared professionals in Qatar averaged $97,175 and in Germany compensation averaged $101,824.


CIa = Compensation Increases again

Maintaining an Intelligence Agency security clearance ensured top dollar. Respondents working for or with the FBI, CIA or NSA in 2012 saw an average total compensation of $113,317, a two percent decline year/year.

Top secret equals good pay in the security clearance world. The average total compensation at the Department of Defense for someone with a top secret clearance was $92,212 in 2012 and someone with a top secret/SCI clearance was $94,373. Each of those is less than the 2011 total compensation averages.

The average total compensation for someone with a Department of Defense confidential clearance earned just under $67,000 in 2012. And the average respondent with a secret designation earned $77,453 in compensation, down from $80,700 the year before.

Working for the CIA in the last year paid dividends. No government entities’ workers reported earnings that topped the nation’s lead spy agency – where professionals earned about two percent more year/year to an average of $121,396. There was only one other agency whose workforce and contractors saw year/year increases: The Department of State. The nation’s diplomatic corps earned $107,743 on average in 2012, up two percent year/year.

The Departments of Homeland Security and Justice have never been highly paid places to work, relatively speaking, for security-cleared professionals. In 2012, working on behalf of those agencies became even less lucrative. Earnings declined seven percent year/year for contractors and employees of the Department of Justice to $90,160.

2012 Average Compensation

CONFIDENTIAL $66,945

SECRET $77,453

TOP SECRET $92,212

TOP SECRET / SCI $94,373

Department of Defense Clearances


Likewise, a five percent average compensation drop to $88,124 was recorded by the Department of Homeland Security’s staff and contractors.

Without bipartisan support in Congress, more cuts are likely as sequestration reductions to the Pentagon and other agencies loom in 2013. The Department of Defense has already announced a proposed one percent pay raise in the new fiscal year, down from the nearly two percent pay increase in fiscal year 2013.

The Future appears Clear as Mud

Though the U.S. is undergoing an economic turnaround, security-cleared professionals foresee a gloomier year ahead.

Forty-four percent are concerned about lower salary increases, while 43 percent showed concern for the possible loss of contract funding. And 38 percent are concerned about canceled or fewer projects. At the same time, 34 percent expressed concern about increased workload due to staff cuts. Just 19 percent were concerned about position relocation.

With sequestration looming and America’s wars coming to a close, 2013 may be a year of flux for the security clearance community. However, as the survey showed, there is no shortage of the need for highly trained, skilled professionals in the intelligence and information technology communities that feed our policy makers with classified material that they require to make informed decisions.

Methodology

The 2013 Security Clearance Jobs Salary Survey was administered online by ClearanceJobs.com between October 30, 2012 and January 21, 2013. A total of 16,315 completed questionnaires were obtained, an increase over last year’s sample size total of 11,436. Security-cleared respondents were invited to participate in the survey through notifications on the ClearanceJobs.com home page and various communications and links. Participants had to have a current, active federal security clearance and be currently employed to be included in the results. Cypress Research Group provided the statistical analysis for the ClearanceJobs.com Compensation Survey.

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ClearanceJobs' Security Clearance Compensation 2013