If you have a sufficiently high security clearance you will find jobs based on basically that detail alone. Many of which pay much more than what those persons currently make (and yes they would represent a career change)
And yes retention is a constant problem for people in specialized training. But even in "grunt" jobs, if individuals are willing to work for a PMC they can make more money. The military trains electrical engineers, network engineers, security engineers, (even a few software engineers), medical doctors, materials scientists, psychologists, psychiatrists and more.
The officer corps is filled with people with advanced degrees and training. Most of them are in because of the benefits package they are guaranteed to get and pension. I once met a person who got their medical degree from the military and managed to retire debt free in their late 40s while pulling a military pension and was opening their own medical practice basically free of the debt worries that plagued most doctors (and was able to use their veteran status to get some nice loans to set up their business too).
This shocks people but some people actually ARE motivated by a sense of patriotism as well, and in the military it becomes possible to work on things that are basically impossible to do in the "real world". Not everyone is universally motivated by wealth so long as they hit a certain degree where they feel safe and secure in their livelihood and future.
And yes retention is a constant problem for people in specialized training. But even in "grunt" jobs, if individuals are willing to work for a PMC they can make more money. The military trains electrical engineers, network engineers, security engineers, (even a few software engineers), medical doctors, materials scientists, psychologists, psychiatrists and more.
The officer corps is filled with people with advanced degrees and training. Most of them are in because of the benefits package they are guaranteed to get and pension. I once met a person who got their medical degree from the military and managed to retire debt free in their late 40s while pulling a military pension and was opening their own medical practice basically free of the debt worries that plagued most doctors (and was able to use their veteran status to get some nice loans to set up their business too).
This shocks people but some people actually ARE motivated by a sense of patriotism as well, and in the military it becomes possible to work on things that are basically impossible to do in the "real world". Not everyone is universally motivated by wealth so long as they hit a certain degree where they feel safe and secure in their livelihood and future.