[Stubb]

Another option, at least in the United States if you're a citizen, is to do contract work for the Department of Defense.

Step 1: Acquire STEM Ph.D.

Step 2: Get a job with a DoD contractor.

Step 3: Profit!

A short look at job options in academia disabused me of pursuing that option. Working twice as hard for half the pay? No thanks.

[LunaSea]

I think you forgot:

Step 1.5: Drop ethics.

[Stubb]

I'm a-okay with my job, and it's great that you're not. That means one less person I'm competing against in the applicant pool. And that pool is already substantially limited by excluding non-citizens.

[afarrell]

It depends on how you feel about working with weaponry or logistics and how you feel about the political effect of NATO.