Washington DCruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Federal government & agencies
Federal departments, the Fed, World Bank, IMF
The city's foundation, though many roles require US citizenship and a security clearance — a genuine constraint for non-citizen newcomers to understand before targeting the sector.
Government contracting & defence
Booz Allen, Leidos, CACI, General Dynamics IT, Accenture Federal
Northern Virginia's contractor belt is the region's largest private employer base. Most substantial roles need clearance, which requires citizenship.
Law, lobbying & policy
Covington, Arnold & Porter, Brookings, RAND, the trade associations
One of the densest legal and policy markets in the world. Practising law needs DC bar admission; foreign qualifications rarely transfer without an LLM.
International development & NGOs
World Bank, IMF, Inter-American Development Bank, Chemonics, PATH
The single most internationally-staffed sector in the city, and the one most accessible to non-citizens — the multilaterals have their own visa categories (G-4) entirely.
Technology & cloud
Amazon (HQ2 in Arlington), Microsoft, Google, Palantir, AWS public sector
Amazon's second headquarters in Arlington reshaped the regional tech labour market, and the cloud providers' public-sector arms are all here.
Higher education & research
Georgetown, George Washington, Howard, Johns Hopkins SAIS, NIH
NIH in Bethesda is the largest biomedical research funder in the world, and the universities anchor a substantial research economy around it.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.