Let’s welcome DIA workers

Surveys conducted of federal intelligence workers who may be moving to Central Virginia as part of base realignment provide valuable insight into the kinds of professionals who will eventually become our neighbors.

Federal plans to move intelligence analysis functions and other jobs here beginning next year will result in more than 800 Defense Intelligence Agency workers coming our way. Another 700 jobs could be created as a result of support employment and the general impact on our economy.

They can’t come soon enough, for a variety of reasons.

This group of military, civilian and contract personnel currently includes highly educated professionals who command impressive wages.

George Mason University’s Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness provided analysis of a pair of surveys conducted of Defense Intelligence Agency workers whose jobs are being moved to the Rivanna Station facility in northern Albemarle County in the months and years ahead. The survey analysis was conducted for the Piedmont Workforce Network and the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission.

The 140 DIA civilian employees who completed the second survey in September work in divisions that provide military forces analysis and research and development in areas such as counterproliferation, strategic warning, and forensic intelligence collection.
The two surveys show that some current DIA workers are already on board with a move to our area, while others are unsure. These findings are not surprising and have little reflection, we expect, on whether the workers now in the Washington area think they’d find Charlottesville a nice place to live. Of course, they would! The mixed bag of responses shows the uncertainty any family or person might have with an expected career change or job change that requires more than a move across town.

What’s instructive and encouraging about the survey results is not so much the finding that people are not sure about what they’ll do, but the information we can glean about the kinds of jobs and professionals who are working for DIA.

Example: Of the 140 DIA workers who responded to the survey, half have a master’s degree or PhD. Another 46 have a bachelor’s degree. Almost half of those responding (48 percent) earn more than $100,000 per year. DIA jobs moved to Rivanna Station likely won’t pay as much as the same jobs in the Washington region, but the cost of living will be lower here as well. The takeaway point, though, is that the jobs associated with the DIA work pay very well, indeed.

Another interesting survey result: Almost 70 percent of respondents are homeowners, which suggests they would likely be interested in owning homes here. Those who are able to buy homes (and they’ll find even the relatively elevated prices in Charlottesville reasonable compared with the D.C. area) are plugged into their communities, contribute to civic causes and are involved in local schools.
Half of the respondents said their families will include one or more children in 2010. More than two-thirds planning to move here expressed interest in owning a house. What factors will influence the decision?

According to survey results, “high school options for their children, potential job opportunities for their spouses, the commuting distance to work, and more general quality of life amenities.” Of them, perhaps only spouse job opportunities will prove a challenge.

We believe a move here will benefit families now calling Washington home, and we know it will benefit us.