Military Intelligence professionals — the 35-series — are among the most versatile veterans in the civilian job market. Whether you were a 35F Intelligence Analyst, 35M Human Intelligence Collector, 35N Signals Intelligence Analyst, 35P Cryptologic Linguist, or any other 35-series MOS, you've developed analytical skills, security awareness, and problem-solving capabilities that civilian employers across dozens of industries desperately need.

The challenge isn't having the skills — it's knowing how to translate classified work into a resume that a civilian hiring manager can understand and value. Here's how to make that transition effectively.

Why 35-Series Veterans Are in Demand

Intelligence professionals bring a combination of hard and soft skills that's exceptionally rare in the civilian workforce.

And then there's the security clearance factor. An active TS/SCI clearance is worth its weight in gold — it can add $15,000-$40,000 to starting salaries, and many positions literally cannot be filled without one because the clearance process takes 12-18 months for new applicants.

Best Civilian Career Paths by MOS

35F — Intelligence Analyst

The most common 35-series MOS and one of the most transferable. 35F experience maps to: business intelligence analyst, data analyst, risk analyst, competitive intelligence analyst, threat analyst, and intelligence analyst positions at federal agencies and defense contractors.

Salary range: $60,000-$110,000 (private sector), $65,000-$95,000 (government GS-0132 series).

35N — Signals Intelligence Analyst

SIGINT analysts have direct pathways into cybersecurity, signals analysis, electronic warfare consulting, and telecommunications security. The NSA, CISA, and defense contractors hire 35N veterans for positions that require understanding of signals collection and analysis.

Salary range: $75,000-$130,000+ with clearance.

35M — Human Intelligence Collector

HUMINT experience translates to investigative roles, corporate intelligence, due diligence, compliance investigations, and human factors analysis. Federal agencies (FBI, DIA, CIA) actively recruit 35M veterans, and corporate security departments value the interpersonal and elicitation skills.

Salary range: $65,000-$120,000.

35P — Cryptologic Linguist

Language skills plus analytical training create opportunities in translation and interpretation, cultural advisory roles, international business consulting, foreign affairs positions at State Department, and intelligence analysis roles that require language proficiency.

Salary range: $55,000-$110,000 depending on language rarity and clearance level.

35G — Geospatial Intelligence Analyst

GEOINT analysts transition to GIS analyst, remote sensing specialist, geospatial engineer, and mapping/cartography positions. Industries include defense, oil and gas, urban planning, environmental consulting, and disaster response. NGA (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency) is the primary federal employer.

Salary range: $60,000-$110,000.

35T — Military Intelligence Systems Maintainer

Technical MOS with direct pathways into IT systems administration, network engineering, cybersecurity, and intelligence systems support. Your experience maintaining classified systems is particularly valuable to defense contractors.

Salary range: $65,000-$120,000.

Dominic Landed a Six-Figure Role
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— Dominic, E-7, Marines

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The Classified Work Problem: How to Write About What You Can't Discuss

This is the biggest resume challenge for intelligence professionals. You did meaningful, complex work — but much of it is classified. How do you demonstrate your capabilities without violating security?

Resume Translation Examples

Name the tools you used. Many intelligence tools have unclassified names even if their application was classified. Palantir, ArcGIS, Google Earth, Analyst Notebook (i2), DCGS-A, Distributed Common Ground System, and Microsoft Office products are all safe to list. If you're unsure whether a tool name is classified, check with your unit's security manager or the tool's classification guide.

The BMR Resume Builder helps 35-series veterans translate classified experience into civilian resume language while maintaining security. The career crosswalk tool shows every civilian position your specific intelligence MOS maps to, with salary data and required certifications.

Top Employers for Intelligence Veterans

Defense and Intelligence Contractors

These are the most natural landing spots for 35-series veterans, especially those with active clearances:

• Booz Allen Hamilton — Largest employer of intelligence professionals outside of government
• CACI — Heavy presence in SIGINT, HUMINT, and all-source analysis
• Leidos — Intelligence, defense, and cyber operations
• ManTech — Intelligence community support contracts
• Raytheon/RTX — Intelligence systems and analysis
• BAE Systems — Electronic warfare and intelligence
• Northrop Grumman — GEOINT, cyber, and mission systems

Federal Agencies

Apply through USAJOBS (GS-0132 Intelligence series) or directly through agency career portals:

• DIA, CIA, NSA, NGA — Direct intelligence analysis positions
• FBI — Intelligence Analyst positions (not just Special Agent)
• DHS/CISA — Homeland security and cybersecurity intelligence
• DEA, ATF — Law enforcement intelligence
• State Department (INR) — Foreign affairs intelligence

Private Sector (Non-Defense)

Intelligence skills apply far beyond the defense world:

• Financial services — Anti-money laundering, fraud investigation, risk analysis (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Deloitte)
• Tech companies — Threat intelligence, trust and safety, competitive intelligence (Google, Meta, Microsoft, CrowdStrike)
• Consulting firms — Due diligence, competitive intelligence, risk advisory (McKinsey, BCG, Kroll)
• Energy and extractives — Geopolitical risk, country risk analysis (ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron)

Building Your Intelligence Resume for Civilian Roles

Beyond the classified work challenge, your intelligence resume needs to demonstrate business value. Here is how to structure it for maximum impact.

Lead with a targeted summary. Your summary should immediately tell the reader what kind of analyst you are and what value you bring. Example: "All-source intelligence analyst with 6 years of experience synthesizing multi-source data into strategic assessments for senior decision-makers. TS/SCI cleared. Proficient in Palantir, ArcGIS, Analyst Notebook, and advanced data visualization. Produced 500+ intelligence products supporting operations across 3 theaters."

Create a technical skills section. List every unclassified tool, database, methodology, and framework you are proficient in. Intelligence hiring managers and recruiters search for specific tool names. Include: analytical software (Palantir, i2 Analyst Notebook, DCGS-A), geospatial tools (ArcGIS, Google Earth Pro), data tools (Excel, Access, SQL, Tableau, Power BI), briefing tools (PowerPoint, Prezi), and any programming languages you know (Python, R, SQL).

Quantify your output. Numbers are your best friend on an intelligence resume. How many intelligence products did you produce per month? How many sources did you manage or coordinate? What was the scope of your collection area? How many personnel did your analysis support? How many briefings did you deliver and to what level of leadership? These metrics demonstrate productivity and scale without revealing classified content.

Highlight your collaboration experience. Intelligence work is inherently collaborative. Mention joint operations, interagency coordination, coalition partner engagement, and cross-functional team leadership. Civilian employers value people who can work across organizational boundaries, and intelligence veterans do this naturally.

Tailor for each application. A defense contractor resume emphasizes different things than a financial services resume. For defense contractors, lead with your clearance, tools, and operational experience. For private sector analytics roles, emphasize your data analysis methodology, presentation skills, and ability to translate complex data into business decisions. The BMR Resume Builder lets you create multiple tailored versions of your resume for different industries and positions.

Certifications That Accelerate Your Intelligence Career Transition

• CompTIA Security+ — Baseline for any cleared position and required for DoD 8570 compliance
• Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) — Validates analytical skills for business intelligence roles
• GIAC certifications — For SIGINT veterans moving into cybersecurity (GCTI, GREM, GCFA)
• PMP — For intelligence professionals moving into program management
• GIS certifications (GISP) — For 35G veterans pursuing geospatial careers
• Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) — For HUMINT veterans moving into investigations and compliance

Common Mistakes 35-Series Veterans Make in Their Job Search

Only looking at defense contractors. Defense contractors are the obvious choice, but they are not the only option and often not the highest-paying one. Financial institutions, consulting firms, and tech companies pay intelligence analysts as much or more than defense contractors and offer different career growth trajectories. A competitive intelligence analyst at a Fortune 500 company or a threat intelligence analyst at CrowdStrike may out-earn their defense contractor counterparts while working in a completely different environment.

Waiting until their clearance is about to lapse. Your clearance is a depreciating asset the moment you separate. Start your job search 6-12 months before separation and prioritize landing a cleared position while your access is still active. Recruiters at companies like Booz Allen, CACI, and Leidos will tell you the same thing — a candidate with an active clearance gets an interview. A candidate who needs a reinvestigation gets a waitlist.

Writing a resume that is too vague. Fear of revealing classified information leads many intelligence veterans to write resumes that say almost nothing. "Conducted intelligence analysis in support of operations" tells a hiring manager nothing they could not guess from your MOS code. Follow the process-not-content rule. Describe your analytical methodology, the volume and variety of data you processed, the tools you used, the types of products you created, and who consumed your analysis. All of this is unclassified and paints a vivid picture of your capabilities.

Underestimating their briefing skills. The ability to stand in front of a colonel or general officer and deliver a concise, accurate intelligence briefing is a skill that translates directly to executive presentations, client briefings, stakeholder management, and sales engineering. Many intelligence veterans take this for granted because everyone around them could do it in the military. In the civilian world, the ability to present complex information clearly to senior leaders is rare and extremely valued. Highlight this explicitly on your resume and in interviews.

Not networking within the intelligence community. The intelligence community is tightly connected. Join AFCEA, INSA (Intelligence and National Security Alliance), attend intelligence community job fairs, and connect with former colleagues who have already transitioned. Many of the best intelligence positions are filled through referrals before they ever hit a job board. A single LinkedIn message to a former colleague who is now at Booz Allen can be worth more than 50 USAJOBS applications.

The intelligence community — both government and private sector — is one of the strongest job markets for veterans. Your analytical training, security clearance, and experience working in high-pressure environments are assets that most civilian candidates simply cannot match. The key is translating those capabilities into language that hiring managers outside the intelligence world can understand, while maintaining the security discipline your training instilled. Build your resume around processes and skills rather than classified content, leverage your clearance while it's active, and you'll find that the transition from military intelligence to civilian intelligence careers is one of the smoothest in the military-to-civilian pipeline.

For help translating your intelligence experience, see our Army resume guide with MOS translation. Also explore where veterans are getting hired in 2026 and try our career crosswalk tool to find matching civilian roles.

→ Corey said it translated his experience perfectly. Try it free

Also check resume keywords by industry.

Related: Top companies hiring veterans in 2026 and the complete military resume guide for 2026.

See also: 35F Intelligence Analyst resume guide.