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Much has been written recently about the increasing
salaries of professionals with security clearances
and it harkens back to the Dot Com era when talented
professionals were able to garner high salaries
for their experience, skills and abilities to
handle risks. These days the name of the game
is what is the level of your clearance and your
particular skill set, but the security cleared
professional also looks at many other features
when considering a new opportunity.
One thing that was learned from the dot com boom
and bust was that there is more to life than just
money. For some people salary is all that is needed,
but in today’s market security cleared professionals
are looking deeper at their new opportunities.
While some organizations have taken the time to
do salary surveys, at ClearedJobs.Net, we have
taken the time to have the conversations with
these professionals and we know the numbers are
not the only thing that they are looking for.
In the Washington DC area and other major metropolitan
areas around the country, the number one concern
of the job seekers is their commute. At a recent
event, many of the job seekers were considering
job offers that they were offered at the event
and considering the balance with their quality
of life. Some job seekers were weighing a $50,000
salary differential against a two hour commute
each way. Most people want to enjoy their life
and time with their families, and though a higher
salary may mean certain luxuries in life, this
is weighed against spending 4 hours a day, 20
hours a week commuting? While many in the corporate
world can look at telecommuting, in the security
cleared community this is a limited option.
Other things that are of interest to the security
cleared professional are the types of project
they are working on. In speaking with highly cleared
professionals from agencies such as NSA and FBI,
they have said that while the high salaries can
definitely be attractive, it is more important
to them to work on cutting edge technology or
unique projects. On top of this, many of these
individuals are faced with losing considerable
health, retirement, and vacation benefits because
of their seniority if they change employers. These
are two heavily weighed factors in the mind of
most security cleared professionals today.
In the coming weeks, we will outline other areas
of interest to security cleared professionals
when considering a new opportunity, such as the
corporate community reputation, retirement benefits
and military transitioning. In addition, ClearedJobs.Net
will also feature articles about key employers
and presenting how the new employees can enjoy
the work life balance at these companies.
8/28/2006
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