IDK if this fits here.
I'm so frustrated about how little care goes into environmental services and how nobody gives enough of a fuck when it comes to gatekeeping employment in STEM. I'm a neurodivergent woman of colour, with 2 post secondary degrees and 1 master's degree in earth and environmental science. I moved to Canada 4.5 years ago because my country had no opportunities in which I wanted to build a career. I worked my ass off with two degrees from Canadian institutions, having to put in way more efforts than domestic students and citizens, getting good grades, being good at research and all that.
Even through that, I was dealt a shitty hand when I graduated in the middle of a pandemic. Where I would've had a wider research scope, I had to cut my project short, give up on building necessary skills like GIS and modelling (which I literally taught myself while looking for employment). And post graduation, I have been unemployed for 17 months. I'm told I need to volunteer to build skills, which is absolutely a tone-deaf advice from professionals who are citizens (as if I can fucking afford it). I'm still volunteering at two places part time.
I have sent applications out in hundreds, even the low hanging fruits, and student jobs/internships. But you know why I haven't gotten those? Not because I was overqualified, but because I'm an immigrant, without permanent residence (PR). And I need at least a year of work experience in certain occupation classes to even apply for a PR. I need a job in my career field to get a PR which would qualify me for those low hanging fruits.
And another gatekeeping issue is how much car-dependent the whole environmental consulting/nature conservation/climate action industry is. Having a car is a fucking requirement, do they not see the fucking irony? I'm more than happy to take public transport, at least till I can get a valid driver's license but what the fuck?
I'm fucked through all sides.
And how are any of these stupid requirements making a dent in climate change? Why the fuck do they need to choose someone less qualified just because they were born in this country? How does that help the cause?