[ndiddy]

I know quite a few extremely skilled people who aren't employed in a technical field. Usually it's some combination of not working well with others, lack of formal credentials and the means to acquire them, or a criminal record. Government work also means you have to be morally okay with what the government does (or willfully ignorant), able to pass a background check, and be willing to go through the security clearance process.

[throwaway85825]

People with skills/means don't want to live in the cheap city/suburb where they have offices. Work from home obviously isn't a thing.

[stackghost]

Government work also usually means relocating. The money wouldn't be good enough for me to uproot my family.

[lstodd]

"People with skills" just don't care for corporate or government bullshit. You may know them as "not being employed in a technical field", but it's just because you got filtered out.