https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_civilian_service
Until about 10 years ago (forgot exact date), Germany had a military draft, which was no problem because
1. you would only see military action abroad
2. as a soldier you had to fill a separate form that you are willing to serve abroad (with an increased paycheck to balance the increased risks)
You would get drafted, you would get the drill and everything, but you would most likely never see combat-action.
Germany also had the "Wehrersatzdienst" (loosely translated: surrogate military service); colloquially called "civil service".
You would get drafted, you would go through the military health-checks and then you would have to apply for "civil service" instead of "military service".
You had to convincingly make your case in an essay, how you cannot serve your country with a gun for conscience-reasons. (The grading of the essay was highly subjective: The bar for getting into civil-service was pretty low if you were athletically in bad shape, but high if you would make a good soldier.)
Once you had entered "civil service", you had to find an organization that offered positions for civil-service-members, for example companies that provide social or medical services, or hospitals, sometimes kindergartens...
You work there, but you get your paycheck from the military. 40 hours per week, a bit more than minimum-wage. (And you would be at an age where you most likely live with your parents anyways, so you keep most of what you earn.)
I did 11 months(?) of "civil service" at a tiny company that offers social services. I was rented out to do all kinds of chores for old and disabled people: I got a 2-week-course on basic nurse-stuff (how to wash, clothe and feed a person who can't move...). I did household chores for two people in wheel-chairs, kept check on a demented old woman, mowed the lawn, went grocery-shopping in bulk, cooking, cleaning... And I had to keep a log-book, how many hours I had worked for whom doing what.
Being around old, disabled and demented people all the time got depressing pretty fast, but the work wasn't outrageously hard and the money was good. (Plus, two guys from my high-school senior-year also did their civil-service there.)
Me being 19, I still lived with my parents back then, so I kept most of what I earned and was able to put a few thousand bucks on the side.
The "civil service" was eventually discontinued because the military draft was discontinued. But I think, it was a mistake: These social and medical services bitterly need the cheap manpower of civil-service-members.
(And the movie-trope of the long-haired, marijuana-smoking "Zivi" working as surrogate-nurse in a hospital sadly went extinct.)
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