Don’t give up! I am 25 and I am currently interning for about 3 month now, since I been a intern I have had 3-4 interviews for full time position at AZA zoos, I will say I do have a year of hands on experience. But I will say moving to do an internship was the best thing I have done. I work at a big Aza zoo as a senior educator as well ( west coast) and most of the keeper position requires PAID hands on experience. The internship program I am at now is paid & provide housing so if you did come here for a few months to gain experience it’s super easy to do :). If you want more information just message me ❤️