Lynsey
Is Government Contracting an Alternative to College?
How a college sophomore and a 21-year-old without a degree are building careers most MBAs can’t touch
I didn’t set out to disrupt higher education.
But when Lynsey—a sophomore at my company—updated her LinkedIn profile to show she’d completed our GovClose certification program, something unexpected happened.
Within days, an aerospace defense company reached out. They wanted to hire her. While she was still in college.
The kicker? She was originally an education major planning to teach high school English.
Then a Marine recruiter showed up offering signing bonuses and a salary as a second lieutenant in the Marines that was higher than what she would have made as a teacher.
And that conversation—the one where she almost enlisted—made her question everything about her path.
The Phone Call That Changed Everything
“I think what really triggered even the thought of changing my major,” Lynsey told me, “is the fact that I was even considering going into the military.”
She paused. “That’s very out of character for me. So knowing that I was considering something that was way out of left field kind of made me think that maybe it was time to really look at all of my options.”
Here’s what she was weighing:
Four more years of college for a teaching degree
Starting salary around $40K-45K (if she’s lucky)
Crushing student loan debt
Or: Military service with education benefits -and higher pay
Both paths required massive commitments. Both came with significant trade-offs.
But there was a third option she hadn’t considered.
The Accidental Experiment
Full transparency: Lynsey works for me atGovClosedoing marketing. I hired her specifically for that role.
After all, she is Gen Z and grew up with social media. If you’ve seen our YouTube channel shorts, then you’ve seen Lynsey’s work.
But here’s where it gets interesting.
I put her through our government contracting certification program—not to make her a consultant, but so she’d understand what she was marketing. So she could speak the language. So she wouldn’t sound like every other marketer regurgitating buzzwords they don’t understand.
I wanted her to know what program managers actually do, what the Federal Acquisition Regulation actually means, how the entire federal procurement system works.
What Ididn’tanticipate was what happened next.
She updated her LinkedIn profile showing the certification.
And aerospace defense companies started reaching out.
A sophomore in college.
They wanted someone who understood government contracting. They didn’t care that she was 19 or 20 years old. They didn’t care that she hadn’t finished her bachelor’s degree.
They cared that she had a skillset almost nobody her age possessed.
The Kid Who Paid His Own Way
While Lynsey’s story was unfolding, another young person was going through the same program—but from a completely different angle.
Jack is 22 years old. No college degree. He found us on YouTube, paid for the certification himself, and went through the entire program on his own.
He told me: “I’ve been wanting to get into the federal market for a while. I started building market research tools for government contractors. Somewhere along the line, I found you, started going through your content, and figured you’d kind of help me speed-run the process.”
Today, Jack runs his own consulting business.
He has multiple high-end clients.
And when I asked him about the ROI, he said something that stopped me in my tracks:
“At this point, the course is paying for itself every month.”
He’s 21 years old.
No degree.
Making more than most college graduates.
And he told me, point blank: “This is my retirement plan.”
What Nobody Tells You About “Competitive” Industries
Here’s what Lynsey discovered when she started her aerospace defense internship:
“You have to go in with the understanding that you’re all figuring it out together.”
Wait. What?
She continued: “Typically, each office you’re working with or each person you’re communicating with—they all have a different way of going about it. So it’s kind of fun because you’re working with these companies and you’re all putting your brains together to try and figure out the best approach.”
This shattered the myth that kept so many people out.
The myth that government contractors are well-oiled machines. That they have it all figured out. That you need decades of experience to add value.
I’ll tell you what I told her: “99.9% of the time, what actually happens is people go to a company and they realize that company has almost no idea what they’re doing. They’re just trying to see what works. Sometimes they’re just throwing stuff against the wall.”
And if you’re the person who actuallyunderstandshow government contracting works?
You’re suddenly the most valuable person in the room.
At 20 years old.
The Differentiator
“Government contracting executive/consultant is probably not what everyone aspires to be when they’re in high school or college,” I told them. “But it is a hard discipline which very few people understand that has an immense amount of money behind it.”
Lynsey got it immediately: “Allot of funding is coming through the government. So it’s nice to know how it works, especially as somebody who is in the college of business right now. ”
Think about what she just described:
While her classmates are fighting for the same entry-level marketing jobs with identical business degrees, she’s got something none of them have.
She speaks a language they don’t.
She understands a market they’ve never heard of.
She can walk into any B2G company (business-to-government) and immediately add value.
And the same companies that are desperately trying to figure out federal contracting see her expertise and think: “We need that.”
What This Means for You (Or Your Kid)
I’m not saying college is worthless.
I’m not saying everyone should skip their degree and learn government contracting.
But I am saying this:
The old equation is broken.
The idea that you go to college → get a degree → get a job → climb the ladder is increasingly fiction.
Meanwhile, skills that actually generate revenue in the real world—skills that companies will pay you for immediately—are being completely ignored by traditional education.
Government contracting is just one example.
But it’s a powerful one because:
The market is massive: $750+ billion in annual federal spending
The competition is weak: Most people don’t understand it
The barrier to entry is knowledge, not credentials: Nobody asks for your degree when you can win a $5M contracts
It works at any age: We’ve got everyone from college sophomores to second-career professionals succeeding
You can start immediately: No four-year commitment required
The Magic Light Bulb Moment
Lynsey described herself as a “hands-on learner” who needed to see the real application.
“Through the program, there are a lot of examples provided, but for me, as soon as you’re in that area, in that field, actually witnessing the email exchanges and those types of things, it kind of made everything click into line.”
She called it her “magic light bulb moment.”
“Oh wait, I actually know what this is and I can figure this out.”
That moment—that realization—is worth more than four years of theory.
Because once you see how it actually works in the real world, you can’t unsee it.
And you can’t un-learn the confidence that comes from knowing you can add real value.
Networking
Both Lynsey and Jack mentioned something that surprised me with how much emphasis they put on it:
The community.
Jack said: “The best part of this whole program is that even though it’s kind of hard to wrap your head around ‘government contracting’, from the very beginning, you have a community that is there to help you.”
“You have all the videos that are gonna show you “how to”, but we also have the weekly coaching calls, which is access to you, but also access to all the other 200+ people in the program.”
He continued: “If there is someone in your industry that might be able to help... if you’re there to become a consultant or if you’re there to get contracts for your business, you can find teaming partners, you can find people to help you with cybersecurity certifications.”
This isn’t just an online course.
It’s 200+ people who are all trying to figure out the same complex system, sharing what works, introducing each other to opportunities, and growing together.
Lynsey called it the “War Room.”
What I’m Not Saying
I’m not saying:
Drop out of college
Government contracting is the only path
Everyone should become a consultant
Education has no value
This is easy
What I am saying:
Skills that generate immediate economic value exist outside the traditional education system.
Young people are capable of far more than we give them credit for.
The ROI calculation on a four-year degree is no longer automatic.
Companies care about capability more than credentials.
And most importantly:
You don’t have to wait until you’re 40 to build something valuable.
The Question I Keep Coming Back To
When Lynsey told me she was considering the Marine Corps I remember thinking:
“I didn’t se this coming”
Not because the military officer corps is bad path. As a 20-year military officer, I’m probably one of the biggest proponents of college graduates going into the military. In fact, it may be that the military is the place where a bachelor’s degree can make the biggest difference in your career.
I didn’t see this coming because I know Lynsey, and this is very out of character for her.
We’ve created a system where young people feel trapped between:
Massive debt for a degree that might not pay off
Military service to avoid that debt
Low-wage work that doesn’t build toward anything
There should be a fourth option.
Actually, there are hundreds of fourth options.
Skills-based education that leads to immediate earning potential.
Real-world training that companies actually value.
Certifications that take months, not years, and cost thousands, not hundreds of thousands.
Government contracting is one path.
But the principle applies everywhere.
Where They’re Going From Here
I asked Jack if he’s sticking with this or moving on.
“I’m absolutely sticking to it. I’m working with some great companies, so I plan on growing with them. This is my retirement plan.”
He’s 21.
He’s already thinking about retirement because he’s building equity in something sustainable.
Lynsey is continuing her business degree. She’s applying what she learns in real-time. And when she graduates, she’ll have actual experience that most MBA graduates can’t touch.
Different paths.
Same principle.
Learn a high-value skill. Apply it immediately. Get paid. Build from there.
The Parting Shot
I’ll tell you what I told both of them when they started:
This isn’t for everyone.
It’s hard. It takes time. You have to actually do the work.
But if you’re willing to learn something that 99% of people don’t understand, in a market with $750+ billion flowing through it every year, and you can apply that knowledge to help companies win contracts?
You’ll never worry about a job again.
You might even have your retirement plan figured out by 21.
Want to learn more about how Lynsey and Jack built their government contracting careers? Or wondering if this path makes sense for you (or someone you know)?
Drop a comment below or reach out directly.
About the Author
Richard C. Howard, Lt. Col. (Ret.) managed $82 billion in Air Force contracts before founding Federalytics and GovClose. Recognized as Air Force Analyst of the Year, he’s produced hundreds of Federal Market Blueprints guiding companies from Silicon Valley startups to Wall Street investors in scaling federal revenue. His market intelligence reaches audiences across the GovClose YouTube channel and podcast.
