22. MITRE
Average total pay: $121,317
For: Lead Information Systems Engineer*Best Companies rank: 66
Headquarters: McLean, VA
You'll need a security clearance to work at MITRE, which is chartered by the federal government to carry out research, primarily for the Defense Department and the intelligence community. But once accepted, you enjoy a boatload of benefits, including 40 paid hours a year for community service, flexible work schedules that can be juggled by the hour, no meetings on Friday afternoons, help with elder care and a gold-plated retirement plan.
MITRE tries to keep pay competitive with research and engineering companies in the for-profit world. Office administrators here make more than $56,000. But there are no bonuses here: The company relies on base pay for compensation.
NEXT: T-Mobile
Last updated February 05 2009: 1:03 PM ET
RSS*Most common salaried job
An earlier version listed an incorrect pay number for Chesapeake Energy. The correct amount is $120,576, not $178,108, which moves Chesapeake from #7 among top payers to #24. The rankings have been adjusted accordingly.
An earlier version listed an incorrect pay number for Chesapeake Energy. The correct amount is $120,576, not $178,108, which moves Chesapeake from #7 among top payers to #24. The rankings have been adjusted accordingly.
