This is an excellent point, one I wish someone had explained to me when I finally separated from the US Army. This is based on my personal experience, to be sure, but from that I say Stamperben also makes a valid point.
When I retired from active duty I was of course still young enough to look to do something else. I went back to school, but also went on the job market. I thought, and my attitude was, my experiences in the military would count for enough to impress potential employers. But never having been in the job market prior was I ever naive. Looking back I believe my greatest problem was in translating my experience into terms which would resonate with the interviewers. What traditionally occurred was I would relate what I had done and the interviewers would look at me for a moment and then say something to the effect of thanks and we will be in touch. Which of course meant they were not interested.
I recall finally asking one interviewer, in severe frustration, what the problem was. His answer was the job in question required the ability to react fast and think on your feet. My reply was to ask if he had ever been shot at, and are you kidding me? But again, never having been in the private job market I realize I just didn't speak the language. Another interviewer told me my experience in the military never required me to earn a profit, and therefore did not count for much.
Still frustrated I took a job in fast food management with Wendys. I thought having a job while looking for another job would be of benefit somehow. Again, I was being naive. Potential employers simply interpreted that decision quite negatively, a sign fast food was apparently all I was capable of. That job drastically limited my options. Nobody cared I was conscientious enough to take a job, to go out and do something to legitimately earn money. The fast food industry is the object of both scorn and ridicule in the business world, those who work in it suffer from that stigma and I was therefore stigmatized. I wish I had known this when separating from the military. What I learned the hard way was potential corporate employers do discriminate when judging background, and would rather higher those with no experience as opposed to those with experience in professions or jobs they deem substandard for whatever reason.
Eventually I abandoned the job search and decided to use the fast food job to support for my additional schooling, and then quit. In the end the profession I found a home in was also one which did not require turning a profit. I am happy with it, so events worked out. But still, had I read the OP article at some point during separation from the military I would never have taken that one particular job. I thought I was being responsible, but in effect I was, at least for a time, just shooting myself in the foot.
Make of this what you will.
Contractors are replacing "cooks" and many drivers are contractors as well.
