According to a Department of Defense report released in May, the DoD had more contractor personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq (155,000) than uniformed personnel (145,000).

Contractors also made up 52 percent of the DOD's workforce in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The numbers show the jobs and demand for quality workers is there, and for recently separated Servicemembers with the right experience, a contractor job can be a perfect fit.

In order to make the smoothest transition from military life into contract work, former troops should keep a few of key things in mind, according to Kerry Kachejian, a 28-year Army officer and author of the book SUVs Suck in Combat: The Rebuilding of Iraq during a Raging Insurgency, which details the rebuilding of Iraq by thousands of contractors and U.S. civilians.

"It's definitely a culture shift going from the military to the civilian world," said Kachejian, who is also a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves and works at Raytheon full-time in his civilian job.

In the civilian world, gone are the 30-day blocks of vacation, paid time for physical fitness training and the guaranteed paycheck.

"In the military you're also used to sharing information," Kachejian said. "In the contractor's world, you have competitors. You have these walls that can appear between contractors. It's the concept of gaining a competitive advantage."

A government contractor's world is also subject to the free market system.

"If another company working overseas has a lower bid to do the same services, your company's contract can expire and you can be done," he said.

There is also less transparency in the civilian world when it comes to internal salary structures, exact job definitions and a clearly defined management hierarchy.

But for qualified former military members who can handle the culture shift, a contract job can be fruitful.

"You won't be expected to take the same risks (as military members)," Kachejian said. "You'll have less responsibility and more pay."

And since many troops who have served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan have likely had a lot of experience working with contractors, there is a great familiarity with the job and how things are when it comes to working with the military.

"A lot of former troops know what attributes they liked and didn't like when they were working with contractors," Kachejian said.

But since many separating Servicemembers have the same kind of experience working overseas, Kachejian said that makes it that much more important for a candidate to really define what one does well and communicate it to a company.

"Everyone else getting off active duty is now your competitor for that job," he said.