There's no "rock solid stability" in defense contracting. You're only paid as long as there's a contract in place for you to work on; as soon as something goes

There's no "rock solid stability" in defense contracting. You're only paid as long as there's a contract in place for you to work on; as soon as something goes wrong there, you're on furlough. As least with government jobs, when you get furloughed, you usually get back pay after the dumb government passes a new budget and fixes the problem. But with defense contractors, there's no such thing. The only advantage to being a contractor is more pay (while you're being paid). The downside is more risk. It's also much easier to lose your job; if the client doesn't like you, they can have you leave at any time, and if your employer can't find a place for you to work (a contract for you to bill your hours to), then you get furloughed, and if that goes on too long (they can't find another department that wants to bring you in to work under some contract), then you get laid off. The main advantage to this line of work is that the expectations are pretty low: as long as you're doing at least as well as the government workers (who are usually either not great, or are fresh out of college and only there for a little while until they get a better-paying job in private industry), then you're pretty safe. But I would not call this "rock solid", not like actual government jobs.