gaps and no references

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It's been so long since I worked that I have only one reference and she's a coworker, one of my past bosses even told me I can never use her as a reference again. I live in a small town and I'm overqualified for this area for most jobs. Jobs that would use my degree or experience I tend to be either overqualified or under and nothing in between, plus I would have to move which would be very difficult. I could volunteer, but I suffer from lack of transportation, not sure what to do.

What's your transportation situation?

Can you work at a bottom of the barrel type job that wouldn't care about references? Just as fast food, Walmart, or a grocery store?

What kind of volunteer opportunities are available?

I have no car, I would be restricted to the towns system of small busses. I've tried applying to Walmart and meijers in the past, McDonald's gave me a nervous breakdown. I could volunteer at a couple of nature centers.

I have a bachelors degree in zoology and I've taught environmental education, especially about birds of prey, and worked on scientific research about birds for universities.


I know what I'm good at now, I would make a good tour guide or naturalist or someone who surveys bird populations, but I can't get my foot in the door, especially after years of "mental health issues" that were mainly meltdowns....

Ah, okay. My best friend is an avian zookeeper.

You need to put in for an internship or volunteer position at any wildlife centers or zoos where you could possibly find a place to live. That's the ONLY way you'll get your foot in the door. You may have to stay on someone's couch for awhile and get a second job for eating money. If you have to do something like McDonald's again, I would ask to be put in the back, not dealing with people. Say you're great at sandwich assembly.

After you've put in some time at a wildlife place, they should give you a chance as guide or keeper or whatever and then you can get on your feet. Those places only hire people who first put in time working there for free, building experience.

Vets and animal shelters also allow volunteers. You can get experience that way also.

I had the idea of moving, in fact my grandma, who raised me actually as her own child, is in a foster home 5 miles from a bird of prey center like I used to work at. It is also close to another nature center and a zoo. I would love to live there, but I can't figure out the logistics.

Now my husband wants to move in with distant relatives he talks to on Facebook he never met in real life and he only knows what state they live in and not the city.... Crazy?

Yeah don't move in with your husband's relatives. That will just stress you out and possibly be dangerous.

Move in with your grandma. I'm sure your husband will get along with her. Find a way to volunteer over there at one of those centers and you and your husband can find scrappy type jobs until you can get better ones.

Once you're able to have more control over your life you probably won't have so many panic attacks.

It's funny, but your situation sounds exactly like my cousin and her husband a few years ago. She's also into wildlife science. They ended up having to move in with her dad and start all over again. But it was only temporary. They're doing great now.

The foster home she lives in does not allow people to just move in. The next closest relatives don't want us to move in.

You may have to settle for scrappy jobs and save up. The only way you can get a job in your field is to volunteer at one of those wildlife or zoo places first. It's not like other fields like IT or business where you can just apply online and get it or not get it. It's kind of medieval where you almost have to put in time like a faux apprenticeship.

But once you get in you'd be able to transfer to anywhere you wanted and specialize in whatever kind of animal you'd want. It would be worth it. My friend is an avian zookeeper and she gets to do all kinds of cool stuff specific to birds. There are elephant specialists, big cat specialists, turtle specialists- anything you can think of. But my friend didn't get there overnight. She worked at a retail store for minimum wage plus at the zoo for free until they had an opening, and then had to work up to full time.