Last month, our team watched a Fortune 500 CISO offer a cybersecurity engineer with TS/SCI clearance $240,000 to start Monday. The engineer declined.
Not because the money wasn’t good. Because he had three other offers on the table, including one for $280,000 with equity upside.
This isn’t Silicon Valley startup madness. This is the new reality of tech-cleared talent in 2025. After two decades in federal staffing, we’ve never seen anything like what’s happening right now. We’re witnessing the perfect storm of exploding demand, vanishing supply, and completely unrealistic expectations from hiring managers who still think they can post a job and wait for applications.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: If you’re still hiring tech-cleared talent like it’s 2019, you’re going to lose. Every single time.
The Numbers That Should Keep You Awake at Night
Let us paint you a picture with data that most executives haven’t fully grasped:
The U.S. government and its technology ecosystem are driving 7-10% annual growth in demand for cleared tech talent. Cybersecurity roles alone are projected to grow by 31% through 2029. Meanwhile, the number of Americans holding security clearances has declined by nearly one million since 2013.
Translation: You’re fishing in a pond that’s getting smaller while everyone else is bringing bigger nets.
But here’s what the statistics don’t tell you, and what we see every day in the market: The talent that remains isn’t just rare; it’s gotten exponentially more selective.
The Shift Nobody Talks About: Candidates Are Interviewing You
Here’s something that’s going to sting for traditional hiring managers: Your cleared candidates don’t need you anymore. You need them.
We’ve watched hiring managers spend six months “evaluating” a cybersecurity architect with Top Secret clearance, only to discover that candidate accepted another offer three weeks into their “thorough process.”
The market has flipped, and most organizations haven’t caught up to the new rules:
- Traditional rule: Candidates compete for your attention.
- New reality: You compete for theirs, and you better be compelling.
The cleared professionals who are truly exceptional? They’re not even looking at job boards. They’re getting recruited directly, often by people who understand their worth and move at the speed of decision.
What Tech-Cleared Talent Actually Wants (Hint: It's Not What You Think)
Here’s where most hiring strategies fall apart. Organizations assume cleared talent prioritizes money above all else. Wrong.
After placing hundreds of cleared professionals, here’s what actually drives their decisions:
Mission Impact Over Paycheck
These professionals want to work on problems that matter. They’ll take less money to work on cutting-edge national security challenges than to debug legacy systems for a faceless corporation.
Autonomy Over Authority: They want to solve problems, not attend meetings about problems. The organizations winning top talent are those that give cleared professionals the freedom to do what they do best without bureaucratic interference.
Growth Over Stability: The best cleared talent wants to expand their capabilities. They’re attracted to roles that offer exposure to emerging technologies, advanced training, and career progression that keeps pace with their ambitions.
Flexibility as a Non-Negotiable: 32% of cleared talent prioritize flexible work options. But here’s the insider secret: It’s not about working from home. It’s about working with organizations that trust them enough to focus on results rather than tracking their location.
The Hiring Strategies That Actually Work (And the Ones That Don't)
Stop Posting Jobs. Start Building Relationships.
The best cleared talent isn’t on the market. They’re working, they’re satisfied enough, and they’re not actively looking. The only way to access this talent is through relationship-based recruiting.
What works: Identifying exceptional performers 12-18 months before you need them and staying in touch.
What doesn’t: Posting urgent openings and hoping the perfect candidate materializes.
Skills-Based Hiring Isn't Optional Anymore
We’ve seen organizations reject a cleared DevSecOps engineer because they didn’t have a computer science degree, then spend eight months trying to fill the position. Meanwhile, that engineer took a role with a competitor and delivered more value in their first quarter than most CS graduates deliver in a year.
The shift: Certifications, demonstrable skills, and problem-solving ability matter more than formal education. The organizations that embrace this reality are accessing talent pools their competitors can’t see.
Speed Beats Perfection Every Time
Here’s a painful reality check: While you’re conducting your “thorough evaluation process,” your competitors are making offers.
The organizations winning top cleared talent have streamlined their hiring to focus on what actually matters: Can this person do the job? Do they align with our mission? Can we work together effectively?
Everything else is noise that costs you talent.
Compensation Transparency as Competitive Advantage
Most organizations are playing guessing games with compensation, trying to lowball exceptional talent or hoping they can “negotiate up” if needed. This strategy is backfiring spectacularly.
The new approach: Lead with your best offer. Be transparent about the total package. Make the financial decision easy so the candidate can focus on mission and fit.
The Remote Work Reality That's Reshaping Everything
Here’s a controversial take that’s going to upset traditional managers: Remote work for cleared positions isn’t just possible, it’s becoming the competitive advantage.
Major defense contractors are expanding remote work options for cleared cybersecurity engineers to access talent nationwide. The data backs this up: 55% of defense contractors see remote options as key to talent retention, with 38% planning to increase such arrangements.
But here’s what most organizations miss: It’s not about location flexibility. It’s about demonstrating trust in your cleared professionals’ judgment and professionalism. The organizations that figure this out are accessing talent pools that geography-bound competitors can’t reach.
Diversity: The Untapped Competitive Advantage
Let us share something that might surprise you: The cleared talent shortage is creating the biggest opportunity for diversity advancement in national security careers that we’ve seen in decades.
44% of recruiters identify meeting inclusive hiring goals as their biggest obstacle, but nearly half intend to increase investments in technology to diversify talent pools. The organizations that crack this code aren’t just doing the right thing–they’re accessing talent sources their competitors are ignoring.
Working with minority-serving institutions, building relationships with diverse professional organizations, and creating pathways for non-traditional backgrounds isn’t just good policy. It’s smart business.
Technology as Your Recruiting Force Multiplier
Here’s where most organizations are wasting opportunity: They’re using recruiting technology to automate the wrong things.
85% of employers using automation see time savings and boosted recruiting efficiency, but they’re automating resume screening instead of relationship building. The winning approach? Use technology to identify and engage passive candidates, not to filter out active ones.
Smart automation: Finding cleared professionals based on skills and career progression patterns, then enabling human recruiters to build relationships.
Dumb automation: Keyword screening that eliminates exceptional candidates because they don’t perfectly match arbitrary requirements.
Real-World Market Intelligence
Last quarter, a mid-size defense contractor was struggling to fill cybersecurity roles for six months using traditional recruiting. They shifted strategy: eliminated degree requirements, offered remote flexibility, and focused on skills-based assessment.
Result? Filled all positions within 30 days with candidates who outperformed their initial expectations.
Meanwhile, a large federal agency insisted on maintaining their traditional hiring process “to ensure quality.” Six months later, they’re still looking for the same positions while their mission-critical projects fall behind schedule.
The difference: Adapting to market reality versus clinging to outdated processes.
Strategic Recommendations for Forward-Thinking Organizations
The organizations that will thrive in the tech-cleared talent market are those that understand this isn’t a temporary disruption, it’s the new normal.
Immediate actions that matter:
- Audit your hiring process for unnecessary friction and eliminate it.
- Build relationships with cleared professionals before you need them.
- Embrace skills-based evaluation over credential checking.
- Offer competitive flexibility in work arrangements.
- Lead with your best compensation offer, not your starting point.
Long-term strategic shifts:
- Partner with educational institutions to build talent pipelines.
- Invest in upskilling existing team members for clearance-eligible roles.
- Create diverse recruiting strategies that access untapped talent pools.
- Develop retention programs that keep exceptional talent engaged.
Market Outlook: What's Coming Next
Based on current trends and federal spending priorities, we anticipate several developments that will further intensify competition for tech-cleared talent:
Emerging Technology Requirements: As agencies adopt AI, quantum computing, and advanced cybersecurity measures, the demand for cleared professionals with these skills will outpace supply even more dramatically.
Geographic Expansion: Remote work capabilities are expanding the talent pool geographically, but also increasing competition as organizations no longer compete locally but nationally.
Compensation Acceleration: We expect continued upward pressure on compensation packages, with total packages potentially increasing 15-25% annually for top-tier cleared talent.
The Bottom Line
The demand for tech-cleared talent isn’t going to decrease. The supply isn’t going to magically increase. The organizations that accept this reality and adapt their strategies accordingly will build competitive advantages that last.
Firms without a strong cleared talent strategy will struggle to compete, while agile organizations build the human infrastructure needed to thrive in today’s complex security environment. The question isn’t whether the market will change. The question is whether you’ll change with it.
In a market where exceptional cleared talent has multiple options, the organizations that understand their value, respect their expertise, and create compelling opportunities will build the teams that drive national security innovation forward. The talent is out there. The question is whether your organization is positioned to attract and retain it.
At CCS Global Tech, we specialize in cleared talent and agile tech teams. From clearance complexities to building diverse workforces, we’re here to help you stay competitive and future-ready.
FAQs
Q1 – Why is the demand for tech-cleared talent increasing so rapidly?
A: Cyber threats, AI adoption, and advanced defense programs are expanding faster than the available workforce. Organizations need cleared professionals who can step into sensitive roles immediately without waiting months for clearance approvals.
Q2 – What technical skill sets are most in demand among cleared professionals?
A: Cybersecurity, cloud engineering, software development, AI/ML, and data analytics dominate. These skills directly support defense modernization, secure communications, and classified system operations.
Q3 – Why is the cleared talent pool so limited?
A: Clearance backlogs, strict vetting requirements, and the small overlap of candidates who have both tech expertise and active clearances make this talent pool extremely narrow.
Q4 – How does cleared talent provide a competitive edge for contractors?
A: Contractors with cleared teams can bid on high-value federal projects, reduce time-to-deployment, and ensure compliance with DoD and intelligence community requirements. This often determines who wins contracts.
Q5 – What challenges do employers face when hiring cleared tech talent?
A: Lengthy clearance timelines, high competition, and salary inflation. Some firms lose candidates during the process because competing employers can make faster, more compelling offers.
Q6 – How can organizations expand their pipeline of cleared talent?
A: A single benchmark is misleading due to role variance (e.g., CIO vs. Analyst). Instead, track Cost-per-Hire by Clearance Level (e.g., Public Trust, Secret, TS/SCI). TS/SCI roles will naturally have a higher cost due to longer timelines and more intensive vetting. Internal benchmarking against past performance for similar roles is more valuable than industry-wide figures.
Q7 – What role do veterans play in addressing the cleared tech shortage?
A: Veterans already trained in cybersecurity, systems ops, and intelligence often hold TS/SCI clearances. They bring discipline, leadership, and proven mission execution that directly translates to civilian roles.
Q8 – How can companies improve retention of cleared professionals?
A: Competitive pay matters, but retention improves when firms provide career growth, training, and purpose-driven missions. Companies hiring veterans report 8% higher retention than those hiring only civilian staff.
Q9 – What certifications help cleared professionals stay competitive?
A: Certifications like CISSP, Security+, CISM, AWS Cloud, and data analytics tools (Python, SQL, Tableau, Power BI) are highly valued. Aligning job roles with these certifications ensures faster hiring and stronger retention.
Q10 – What steps should leaders take now to future-proof their cleared hiring strategy?
A: Build long-term partnerships with veteran pipelines, invest in continuous training, and align hiring processes with mission-critical tech skills. Acting now ensures access to scarce talent before competitors capture it.
