The job market is active, and veterans are finding traction. But not evenly, and not always in the places the career brochures suggest. Based on employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, hiring data released by Hire Heroes USA covering the first nine months of 2025, and 2026 projections from the Redeployable and MissionWise workforce analyses, here is where veterans are actually landing, and where the strongest momentum is.

1. Defense and Government Contracting
Defense contracting is the leading industry for veteran hires at 13.8 percent, followed by government and public administration at 10.5 percent, according to Hire Heroes USA’s 2025 report. These numbers reflect something that holds across economic cycles: mission-critical environments, security clearances, and hierarchical operational structures translate directly from military to contractor settings. Companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, General Dynamics, and Boeing all maintain dedicated veteran hiring pipelines.

Clearance holders are particularly valuable. Veterans with active Top Secret or TS/SCI clearances command salary premiums in defense, intelligence, and federal contractor roles, especially in markets like Washington D.C., Colorado Springs, and Tampa. If you have a clearance, protect it through transition. The backlog for new investigations is long enough that an active clearance is a concrete financial asset.

2. Healthcare and Social Services
Healthcare and social services accounted for 6.6 percent of veteran hires in 2025, a figure that has grown steadily year over year. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections indicate healthcare will drive the largest share of U.S. job gains this decade, propelled by an aging population and ongoing demand for outpatient and home-based care.

For veterans, the appeal often runs deeper than job availability. The work involves direct service to people who need it, which connects to something many veterans carried out of the military and find difficult to replicate elsewhere. The VA’s Intermediate Care Technician program provides a structured entry path for veterans transitioning into clinical roles, and the Post-9/11 GI Bill covers tuition across a wide range of healthcare programs.

3. Information Technology and Cybersecurity
IT accounts for 7.1 percent of veteran hires in the Hire Heroes USA 2025 dataset, making it the third-largest industry for veteran placement. Cybersecurity specifically carries more than 500,000 unfilled positions in the U.S., and the field has moved substantially toward skills-based hiring. In 2026, certifications like CompTIA Security+, AWS Cloud Practitioner, and Google Data Analytics carry weight that many employers now rank above degree requirements.

Veterans with signal, IT, or cyber MOS backgrounds have the most direct transfer. About 12,000 service members participated in the SkillBridge program in the first half of fiscal year 2024, with the program allowing up to 180 days of civilian job training before separation. For veterans without a technical military background, SkillBridge placements and credential programs have both produced real results.

4. Skilled Trades and Infrastructure
Skilled labor and trades entered the top 10 job functions for veterans in 2025 for the first time. A February 2026 report from Hire Heroes USA and Redeployable identified installation, maintenance, and repair roles as among the most stable career paths available, with strong two-year retention data and lower automation exposure than many white-collar fields. Electricians, HVAC technicians, and industrial mechanics stay in demand as energy and infrastructure projects expand, and veterans from aviation maintenance or equipment-heavy MOS backgrounds often arrive with directly applicable skills.

Apprenticeship programs like Helmets to Hardhats provide structured entry points into union trades for veterans with no prior civilian trade experience.

5. Project Management Across Industries
PMI, the organization behind the Project Management Professional certification, counts military experience toward the required hours. If you led teams, managed logistics, or coordinated operations, that time qualifies. This is one of the more portable paths available, because demand for project managers spans construction, IT, healthcare, defense, and manufacturing. Veterans’ experience in planning, delegation, and adaptability aligns well with what project management roles require, and industries like construction, IT, and logistics consistently seek leaders who can bring order to complex operations.

6. Entrepreneurship
Veterans owned 1.6 million U.S. businesses with $1.0 trillion in receipts, according to the most recent Census Bureau data. Veteran-owned businesses are 5 percent less likely to close and carry a 2 percent lower failure risk than non-veteran-owned peers, with 55 to 57 percent surviving at least five years, above the national survival rate. And 98 percent of veteran entrepreneurs reported that military-developed skills helped them overcome business obstacles.

Nearly half of the veterans who started a business said having a positive impact on their communities was a priority, while more than three in five said they started a business because they wanted more flexibility and to be their own boss. The IVMF at Syracuse University’s Boots to Business program provides free entrepreneurship education for transitioning service members and veterans.

Hire Heroes USA clients achieved an average starting salary of $72,172 in 2025, well above the national average. The fields above account for the bulk of where that traction is happening. If you are working through a job search right now, Mission Roll Call’s Resource Directory lists employment and transition-focused organizations you can connect with directly.