Top Employers of Veterans
Once they've received their last paycheck from Uncle Sam, where do most military folks go to find the next one? It turns out that many don't travel far. Former military members often get picked up by companies that work directly with the federal government and the military.
Online salary database PayScale.com has come up with a list of the most common employers of former military service men and women. Not surprisingly, companies who contract with the military or federal government prefer hiring workers who are familiar with those organizations. "A key skill that military people have going for them is that they understand how to work with the government and the military," says Al Lee, PayScale's director of quantitative analysis.
For example, General Electric made jet engines for the military during WWII and has also been involved in nuclear weapons production. It would certainly make sense to have their production, engineering and logistics teams as military-savvy as possible.
Lee says to keep in mind, too, that it is not just the engineering or technical jobs at these companies that benefit from military know-how. From human resources to finance and marketing, employing people who know how decisions are made and deals are cut for government agencies helps these businesses succeed.
"These companies deal with big, complicated, international projects. People with military experience are well-equipped to handle that," says Lee.
Who are the big employers? Lee says that they fall into three categories: the aerospace industry, weapons and defense contracting, and working for the government directly.
Below are examples of jobs where employers might prefer military savvy and the average, annual salaries for those jobs, according to PayScale.
1. Aerospace Industry
Top Companies
- The Boeing Company
- Lockheed Martin Corporation
- Northrop Grumman Corporation
Top Job Titles:
- Aerospace Engineer-- $86,300
- Aerospace Engineer & Operations Technician -- $43,600
- Project Engineer, Aviation-- $85,700
2. Weapons and Security Companies
Top Companies
- Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
- Booz Allen Hamilton
- Allied Barton Security Services Inc.
- Raytheon
Top Job Titles
- Support Technician, IT -- $39,000
- Electronics Technician -- $42,800
- Human Resources Generalist -- $49,400
3. Government Agencies
Top Companies
- United States Government
- Department of Defense
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Top Job Titles
- Network Security Engineer -- $70,500
- FBI Agent -- $71,000
- Project Manager -- $64,800
Top 20 Employers of Former Military
- Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
- Booz, Allen and Hamilton
- Northrop Grumman Corporation
- L-3 Communications
- United States Government - Department of Defense
- BAE Systems, Inc.
- Lockheed Martin Corporation
- Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)
- CACI International, Inc.
- The Boeing Company
- Department of Veteran's Affairs
- Allied Barton Security Services Inc.
- Raytheon Company
- Securitas Security Services USA, Inc.
- Deloitte Consulting LLP
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- Exelon Corporation
- General Dynamics Corporation
- General Electric Company (GE)
- Stryker Corporation
Next: Military Families Week
Related Stories from Ask Men
Source: All salary data is provided by PayScale.com. Salaries listed are annual salaries for full-time workers with 5-8 years of experience and include any bonuses, commissions or profit sharing.
Bridget Quigg
Bridget Quigg is the web content editor for online salary database PayScale.com. Located in Seattle, Wash., Bridget specializes in writing and editing content for blogs, websites and feature articles.
more...
10 Comments