Know Your Worth / Defense
Defense-related careers include civilian research support, engineering assurance, procurement, training, facilities, and program administration. These pathways describe unclassified professional work using public or authorized evidence, with clear boundaries around information access, contracting authority, professional approvals, and the responsibilities that an independent engagement can actually assume.
1–30 of 30 careers · 1,000 in the directory
All careersEmployee references are annual US median wages for the cited BLS occupation, which may cover several career paths. Freelance examples add $15,000 for benefits and $20,000 for business costs, then divide by 1,200 billable hours a year. Annual figures are rounded to the nearest $1,000 and hourly figures to the nearest dollar. Figures are before personal taxes, with no percentage fees. Open a guide to see the source or adjust the assumptions in the calculator.
BLS · May 2025 · Aerospace Engineers
Organize certification-related evidence for aerospace systems within a defined approval framework. Track requirements, test records, and unresolved findings while reserving compliance determinations and authorization for designated qualified authorities.
View career → Aerospace Certification AnalystBLS · May 2025 · Aerospace Engineers
Evaluate structural behavior using suitable engineering models and documented assumptions. Explain loads, material evidence, numerical limitations, and review needs before analysis informs an approved aerospace design decision.
View career → Aerospace Structural AnalystBLS · May 2025 · Buyers and purchasing agents
Help teams compare unclassified acquisition options against documented needs and constraints. Organize evaluation evidence, assumptions, and decision records without representing the work as an official procurement determination.
View career → Defense Acquisition AnalystBLS · May 2025 · Technical writers
Maintain traceability between approved configurations, changes, and supporting records in unclassified programs. Help teams understand which document or component version applies without assuming administrative control replaces technical verification.
View career → Defense Configuration ManagerBLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Support analysis and administration of unclassified defense contracts using authorized records. Track deliverables, changes, and evidence questions while leaving legal interpretations and contracting decisions to appropriately authorized professionals.
View career → Defense Contracts AnalystBLS · May 2025 · Financial and investment analysts
Assess unclassified program cost assumptions and their sensitivity to changing requirements. Distinguish estimates, committed costs, and uncertainty so decision-makers can understand the limitations of a budget comparison.
View career → Defense Cost AnalystBLS · May 2025 · Information Security Analysts
Review authorized cybersecurity evidence for unclassified defense support systems. Help teams document control gaps and response responsibilities while respecting strict access boundaries and ownership of security authorization decisions.
View career → Defense Cybersecurity AnalystBLS · May 2025 · Operations Research Analysts
Help unclassified programs organize data ownership, quality, and authorized uses. Connect reporting needs with classification guidance, access records, and documentation while reserving official marking decisions for authorized personnel.
View career → Defense Data Governance AnalystBLS · May 2025 · Electrical Engineers
Develop requirements and verification plans for unclassified support electronics. Coordinate power, interfaces, maintainability, and documented operating limits without working on weapons or sensitive operational capabilities.
View career → Defense Electronics EngineerBLS · May 2025 · Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
Organize environmental evidence and reporting for unclassified facilities or support activities. Explain record gaps and monitoring questions while reserving compliance determinations, field approvals, and legal interpretations for authorized specialists.
View career → Defense Environmental Compliance AnalystBLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
Coordinate unclassified facilities work supporting civilian operations or training. Manage schedules, dependencies, and contractor communication while preserving licensed design, site safety, security, and official acceptance responsibilities.
View career → Defense Facilities Project ManagerBLS · May 2025 · Market research analysts
Study how people interact with unclassified support systems and training workflows. Translate observed usability issues into evidence-based recommendations while respecting participant protections and qualified review of safety-related decisions.
View career → Defense Human Factors SpecialistBLS · May 2025 · Logisticians
Plan support and maintenance logistics for unclassified, nonoperational scenarios. Compare capacity, lead times, and service requirements while documenting assumptions that limit the usefulness of a proposed support arrangement.
View career → Defense Logistics PlannerBLS · May 2025 · Operations Research Analysts
Analyze authorized maintenance records for unclassified support equipment. Help teams understand recurring faults, record quality, and service patterns without exposing sensitive operational information or overstating prediction accuracy.
View career → Defense Maintenance Data AnalystBLS · May 2025 · Industrial Engineers
Improve documented manufacturing workflows for unclassified components and support equipment. Connect process evidence, inspection needs, and production constraints while reserving technical release and controlled changes for authorized reviewers.
View career → Defense Manufacturing EngineerBLS · May 2025 · Buyers and purchasing agents
Support purchasing analysis for ordinary unclassified goods and services. Compare specifications, supplier evidence, and commercial terms while maintaining documented evaluation rules and leaving award decisions to authorized procurement officials.
View career → Defense Procurement AnalystBLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
Evaluate schedules, dependencies, and reported progress in unclassified defense programs. Help decision-makers compare options using clear assumptions rather than treating planned milestones or available funding as guaranteed delivery.
View career → Defense Program AnalystBLS · May 2025 · Writers and authors
Help teams assemble coherent responses to public, unclassified defense opportunities. Align evidence, requirements, responsibilities, and review schedules while keeping unsupported capabilities or approval claims out of proposal narratives.
View career → Defense Proposal StrategistBLS · May 2025 · Industrial Engineers
Review manufacturing and verification evidence for unclassified defense-related products. Translate requirements into quality questions and traceable findings while preserving designated authority for product acceptance and release.
View career → Defense Quality EngineerBLS · May 2025 · Technical writers
Organize unclassified program records so authorized users can find evidence and understand retention responsibilities. Maintain version, access, and disposition records without independently deciding restricted information handling or legal retention obligations.
View career → Defense Records Management SpecialistBLS · May 2025 · Industrial Engineers
Evaluate reliability evidence for unclassified equipment and support processes. Compare failure definitions, maintenance records, and uncertainty while distinguishing limited observations from a justified claim about future performance.
View career → Defense Reliability EngineerBLS · May 2025 · Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
Evaluate software assurance evidence for unclassified support applications. Connect requirements, tests, dependencies, and change records so reviewers can judge software quality without unsupported claims that all failures have been eliminated.
View career → Defense Software Assurance EngineerBLS · May 2025 · Logisticians
Assess sourcing and continuity risks for unclassified defense supply chains. Connect part requirements, supplier records, and delivery assumptions while respecting restrictions on technical information and authorized purchasing decisions.
View career → Defense Supply Chain AnalystBLS · May 2025 · Industrial Engineers
Build simulations for unclassified maintenance, training, or administrative planning questions. Make model assumptions and validation limits explicit while avoiding operational targeting, weapons performance, or sensitive deployment scenarios.
View career → Defense Support Simulation EngineerBLS · May 2025 · Aerospace Engineers
Translate unclassified program needs into traceable requirements and verification questions. Coordinate interfaces and decisions without assuming that a complete requirements document proves a system's operational suitability.
View career → Defense Systems Requirements EngineerBLS · May 2025 · Technical writers
Create clear unclassified technical documents for civilian support, training, or program administration. Maintain source permissions and review records so simplification does not expose controlled information or conceal important limitations.
View career → Defense Technical WriterBLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Coordinate movement of unclassified research concepts toward approved civilian support applications. Connect evidence maturity, stakeholder needs, and development dependencies without promising procurement success or readiness beyond available validation.
View career → Defense Technology Transition ManagerBLS · May 2025 · Aerospace Engineers
Plan verification evidence for unclassified civilian support systems. Connect test cases with requirements, configuration records, and limitations rather than treating a successful demonstration as proof of complete suitability.
View career → Defense Test Evaluation EngineerBLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists
Develop learning materials for unclassified civilian support and administrative tasks. Align objectives, practice activities, and assessments while maintaining subject-matter review and appropriate boundaries around restricted operational knowledge.
View career → Defense Training SpecialistBLS · May 2025 · Technical writers
Coordinate information and review workflows needed for export-control decisions. Track product descriptions, recipients, and approvals while reserving legal classification and authorization judgments for appropriately qualified professionals.
View career → Export Control Coordination Specialist