OP you want to join tech but not SWE then what kind of roles are you looking for.

Public sector tech is generally a waste of time. Govtech scholars all want to zao or break bonds while they are still studying once they get a FAANG offer. DSTA friends generally wasted a lot of time although a select few are happy. Astar CS/Engineering scholars mostly want to serve and FO ASAP. IMDA is a joke after all the OG IDA ppl left for govtech. Heard bad things about HTX.

So what if the defense guys can pay you 5k for you to not develop your career, 10 years down you might be making 8-10k and stuck doing shitty proj management because you can't go anywhere