You know, I am having the exact same problem. I graduated in a Broadcasting program last year and I have yet to find a job in that field. No matter how hard I try, it just seems that nobody wants to hire me. I mean, I have worked on a few video and audio projects since graduation, but I what I desire is a part time or even a full time job in Broadcasting. There's not really much advice I can give you right now, other than to just not give up. That's pretty much all I can say.

It gets frustrating, I feel for you.

You as well.

go for it.. what if what if you graduate Cum do Lota sex and get a High paying job then?
I mean yea bad things can happen but so can good things
its life.. so live and take chances and things will work out.
the worst life is the life that you never TRIED because you were scared bad things happen

I had a laugh at the "Cum do Lota sex" part. :p

Yeah. Part of me is saying so as well. If I don't try, then it'll never happen for certain while if I try, then it might just work out ok. I wish things would only go back to what they are now if I ever failed at this instead of getting worst, but I might just have to take that risk and see...

As an owl, I know a bit about wisdom ...

If you don't do it you stay stagnant, no chance of gettiing forward, and if you really like that kind of work training for it would be good ... I made the mistake of not going after my choice of work when I was younger and now as I am way older I am not sure I'll ever be able to ...

Ultimately the choice remains your, but life for me is not about playing it safe ...

"and if you really like that kind of work training for it would be good"

That's the thing, I don't know yet. I THINK I'd like it enough to want it to be my job, but I will only for certain once I really try it. However by then it'll be too late.

If I would be the only one to suffer through this if things turn bad it wouldn't even be half as bad. But I'll have a dog, 3 cats and a Signficant Other that will pay the price with me if I fail.

...then again you make a point, if I don't try, then I automatically fail...

exactly, life is a succession of thing we can try or not ...

Let's say the worst happens; you can't find a job in the field quickly enough to avoid creditors running out of patience. Now you have debts you can't pay off and a dog. Would you be able to find somebody to adopt the dog? If worse came to worst, the humane society would almost certainly take it, or maybe another animal therapist. You know what happens when you have debt that you have no way of paying; bankruptcy. Your debts go away, but you never get credit again. Is that so bad? What about failing again? You've failed before, this would just be another setback, same as last time. No better, no worse.

And what if you succeed? You have a dog that you've wanted for a while and you and s/he go around making people feel better. The school debts go away in due course and the rest if gravy.

The most important question, IMHO, is this; what would prevent you from succeeding? The two most obvious things are never trying and an believing in your own failure. Those are things you can do something about. What else? Not actually liking the job once you're in it? Job-shadow your friend for a day or two and find out for sure if it's something you want. A bigger debt than you'd expected? Talk to a bank loans agent about it; banks are experts at telling whether a loan's likely to be paid off. (If s/he starts looking shifty and talks a lot about collateral, run don't walk your account to another bank.) Not finding an actual job in zoo-therapy? Don't just look at how many therapists are hired, find out who hires them. Go around to a few of those whos, maybe a lot, introduce yourself and your intentions and see if they'll hire you now. (Obviously you won't ask to be paid until you start working, although you might "intern" some weekend hours while training to sweeten the deal for them.) Get your friend to brainstorm some other possible roadblocks and how you might handle them.

Here's a big one; is your reputation bad? There are lots of Furries with good jobs and lots with bad or no jobs. Still, it might not hurt to find out. Tell your school about being Furry, see if they'll still take you as a student; tell your bank manager and see if you can still get a loan. Employers are likely to be even pickier since they're hiring therapists, which is a position of trust. You and I know that just being Furry doesn't take away your integrity or make you dishonest, but do the people who are thinking of hiring you know that? Google your own name and see what citations come up, then look at them as if you were an employer hiring a therapist; would you hire that guy? Write down reasons why you might not, then look at the list; can you convince an employer that those are actually reasons why he should hire you?

...okay, I admit it; if you can, then you probably should go into sales instead. Selling yourself is what getting a job -- any job -- really is. And some people aren't good at it.

Whatever your decision, good luck!

Thanks a lot, you've given me a lot of food for thought. That is exactly what I was looking for. :)

I know the rescue where I plan on getting the dog would take it back if things went sour. It's something I could further discuss with them BEFORE adopting anyway, such as planning ahead in case of accident.

Not trying is the part I'm most afraid of. However this program includes a lot of stuff I need to shake me up such as out of town weekends of intensive classes (up-rooting me is always good since I tend to be nervous about doing stuff like that on my own) as well as internships and such that are part of the course. So I'd be "forced" into developing the skills and contacts I'd need, which we never had in Cartoon Animation so it would probably not be the same.

I'm thankfully not too worried about the furry thing. Around here the term is not that badly known by the general public. I have yet to be yelled "Yiff in Hell!" at when I'm mascotting or anything of the like so I'm not too too worried about it. So far employers have actually been very interested in my costuming work. I also seem to have a very strong charisma as almost everyone at all my retail jobs wanted to work with me. I have yet to pass an interview where I was not hired as well (not true, it happened once, but it was to work in a petshop and I was specialized in dogs and cats and they hired the guy specialized in fish and aquariums because they had plenty of cats and dogs people). So I'm fairly confident that as long as I work for it, I could make this work.

I'm more worried I will fail myself than anything. But as you said, that, at least, is something I can do something about.

One thing that I've learnt, is that you are always in debt. It something that becomes a part of life and to control it to not to go overboard. Going to school = debt. Buying a car = debt. Buying a house = debt. Well you get the idea, so it is not as scary as it sounds.

One other thing is that people are quick to criticize and slow to credit. You will get probably get a million people saying how awful are the things you do and none with a "good job", "thank you very much for your efforts". The best part of life is to do what you love and get paid for it. And, you only have one try at it.

And the part that is most forgotten is that, you are not alone. There is no need need to carry the burden the success nor the failure alone. Friends are there for a reason, and it would be a better place if we can all help each other. I'll even go one more... ever think of working for the Biodome (or similar place)? Maybe at first you can do some stage work, not as a caretaker, but in marketing and design. You'll get your foot in the door and move up while you study. And perhaps some of my old Engineers still work there.

Yeah, I have that horrid scare of debt... So far I haven't had a debt to my name. Not once. I had money in the bank to pay for studies and I even had a hard time getting a credit card a few years back specially because I had absolutely no credit history. Money is something that stresses me quite a lot. I'll get used to it. ;)

As for the "good job", a smile on the patient's face is my "good job". :) It's just like when you're mascotting. Your sweating buckets and young teens mock you. But you look at the smile in the face of those who chose to dream and it's such a reward! :) If my patient actually gets better with our help, then it's all the praise I need. :)

I know I'm not alone, that's what's scaring me. :p I'm afraid of dragging Ben down the hole with me... Then again, if he's ready to follow me there, it's not so much of me dragging him. ;)

Since you mention the biodome, I think you confused zoologist with zoo-therapy. I'd be visiting homes and health centers and working on different objectives with the patients depending on their needs. The animal is a tool in this. It's much more fun playing fetch with a dog than doing exercises for your arm. See what I mean? Or when someone is distressed, sometimes it's easier to open your heart to the dog resting his head on your lap than to another human being... That kind of therapy work. :)

Whoops, you are right, I did confuse the two. I always think of how to get my foot in the door to find "related" occupations to finally get to your final goal. So if can start in something like MIRA and put that on your resumé, it might be better than a diploma.

In terms of "being a burden to your friends and family", that is sweet but try not to affect your decision too much. The bigger the risk the greater the reward. AND knowing that you may be spending $6000++ AND knowing all the friends that are supporting you AND knowing that this is something you may want to do in life, it'll push you to work hard and pass in the top 74%.

I would think that it would be hard to find a job with this kind of major. That said, you have another degree that you can fall back on until you get the job you want, so that makes it a little better. That is a bit of money to borrow, but again, you can fall back on the other degree for a job. The main concern I have here is the fact that you would be getting a dog at the same time. As you are unsure how well things would be, I would be skiddish about getting the dog. Is it possible to volunteer at a shelter or something and work with those animals?

I'm worried about the idea of the dog as well... I was planning on waiting before adopting one since I was not monetary stable. I'd hate to have a dog pay the price of failure with me if it comes to that. Though I know the rescue would take it back should things go sour. But I wouldn't want to put the dog through up-rooting like this.
And no, I couldn't really volunteer in a shelter for that, I need a trustworthy and formed and certified dog to work with me and accompany me to visit patients.