Why would I spend so much time educating these kids if I thought its okay that we blow that all up literally?
I think the point is not that people don’t rise to challenges, but that the ones who do graduate quickly thereafter. I can turn an 18 year old into a competent roboticist in 4 years, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t completely lost and making very costly mistakes for a good portion of that time.
Anyone who has operated in a student-run organization will tell you that when you're doing anything complicated (like managing a college IT department), the ~4-year limit on institutional memory is a serious issue, especially when it involves people who mostly don't have the experience to be proactive about documentation (and, I should note, institutional documentation is not an easy problem for organizations filled with seasoned professionals).
Both soldiers and drivers can be alone for hours and sometimes have to make life-or-death decisions during that time.
Students are students. Their job is to be students, not administrators or full time workers. That's why things run and maintained by students typically don't have the follow through and professionalism of people who are paid to do it.
Even teenagers are perfectly capable of most administrative tasks. People rise to the challange, if the environment is right