Military & defense talent with more than 18,000 ex-military and government employees in the area, many with high level security clearances. Much of this military and defense-related knowledge and experience has direct applications in the advanced security industry.

Growing, technically skilled workforce including strong growth in related occupations, such as software engineers, electrical engineers, chemical engineers, computer programmers and technicians. Local colleges and universities offer an array of relevant degree programs ranging from electrical engineering and computer science to discovery informatics and biochemistry.





Competitive wage structure. The chart below provides wages typically associated with the advanced security sector, or visit our workforce and employment page to access a more comprehensive list of average wages by occupation (BLS data). For a local wage & benefit survey broken down by industry sector and company size contact Heyward Horton at the Charleston Regional Development Alliance.

Advanced Security Cluster, Select Occupations, Charleston S.C. MSA

Occupation Code	Occupation Title	2008 Average Hourly Wage	2008 Median Hourly Wage
11-1021	General & Operations Managers	$44.80	$40.27
11-9041	Engineering Managers	$48.49	$46.33
13-1111	Management Analysts	$30.39	$29.44
15-1021	Computer Programmers	$26.74	$25.67
15-1031	Computer Software Engineers - Applications	$35.12	$34.67
15-1032	Computer Software Engineers - Systems Software	$31.58	$28.66
17-2061	Computer Hardware Engineers	$34.78	$34.50
17-2071	Electrical Engineers	$38.46	$38.21
17-2072	Electronics Engineers (Except Computer)	$39.55	$40.40
17-3023	Electrical & Electronic Engineering Technicians	$29.42	$28.78
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 5/2009

Strategically located, affordable real estate with Charleston's technology corridors featuring beautiful campus environments, state-of-the-art telecom infrastructure, and quick access to the airport and Interstate. The Charleston Digital Corridor provides knowledge-based companies located in certain geographic areas an array of business and governmental resources.

Space & Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic (SPAWAR Atlantic) is the Navy’s principal C4ISR Engineering & Integration Center on the East Coast. The operation provides each of the essential functions of C4ISR, and works with a myriad of systems including sensors, video teleconferencing, image processing, air traffic control, navigation, computer security, briefing systems, and multifaceted communication pipelines.

Project SeaHawk is the nation's first intermodal transportation and port security taskforce and operations center, operating under the U.S. Department of Justice and bringing together 50+ Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies (including U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard, S.C. Law Enforcement Division, local law enforcement, the State Ports Authority and other agencies). Project SeaHawk is serving as a model for the creation of other centers at major ports throughout the country.

South Carolina State Ports Authority operates the Port of Charleston, one of the largest container ports on the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts. As a partner in Project SeaHawk, the port has become a national testing ground for new container security technologies, including radiation detection and sophisticated container tracking.

U.S Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for conducting and completing civil works studies, projects and programs. Also plays an important role in assisting other federal, state and local partners in responding to national and/or natural disasters.

U.S. Coast Guard District 7, Charleston Sector is a multi-mission unit providing maritime homeland security, search and rescue, law enforcement, marine environmental response and port and waterway safety.

Charleston Air Force Base is the only East Coast C-17 air base, providing a large part of Air Mobility Command's Global Reach airlift capability.

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and Federal Complex (FLETC/FC) provides training for federal law enforcement agencies with facilities devoted to maritime law enforcement and port security. The U.S. Coast Guard has its own Maritime Law Enforcement Academy on the same campus.

National Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology Center, Southeast is a National Institute of Justice program providing technical advice and assistance to all law enforcement and corrections facilities within the 15-state Southeast Region.

Savannah River National Laboratory (SNL), a key Department of Energy industrial complex processing and storing nuclear materials in support of national defense and U.S. nuclear non-proliferation efforts. A new partnership among SNL and three local NOAA facilities studies toxic algae, marine bacteria and viruses that can affect ecosystem health and homeland security.

Hollings Marine Laboratory, formed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, the Medical University of South Carolina and the College of Charleston, is designated a NOAA "Center of Excellence" and is currently involved in research related to environmental terrorism.

Advanced Security Cluster Firms in the Charleston S.C. MSA

Company	Web Address	Product/Service
BAE Systems	www.baesystems.com	Electronic security and communications systems design, manufacturing and integration
Barling Bay, LLC	www.barlingbay.com	Systems engineering, information assurance/security, research and development
Booz Allen Hamilton	www.boozallen.com	Systems engineering and information assurance services
CACI	www.caci.com	Network systems and security
Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC)	www.ctc.com	C4ISR engineering and intelligence services
Force Protection, Inc.	www.forceprotection.net	Mine-protected vehicles, military class vehicles manufacturing
General Dynamics Information Technology	www.gdit.com	Systems integration and information technology
ISHPI Information Technologies, Inc.	www.ishpi.net	Systems engineering, information assurance, cyber security and related services
L-3 Communications	http://www.l-3com.com/	Computer integrated systems design, engineering services
Lockheed Martin Information Technology	www.lockheedmartin.com	Network security, systems engineering/integration, maintenance/repair, information assurance
ManTech International	www.mantech.com	Information technology and technical services
Modus 21	www.modus21.com	Business Process Management (BPM) and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) services
SAIC	www.saic.com	System engineering and integration services
Scientific Research Corporation	www.scires.com	Communications, electronic systems and equipment design and integration
UEC Electronics	www.uec-electronics.com	Electronics and electro-mechanical design, engineering and assembly
Ware On Earth Communications, Inc.	www.wareonearth.com	Information technology
Source: Center for Business Research, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, 9/2009.