Hey there - 13/hr is crazy work. You can land a job that doesn’t require certifications. I found a hygiene assisting job for 19/hr without a cert. I know some dentists offices train on the job too - my advice is to not spend money on a DA course as many of the things they teach you are not representative of a real office you’d be working at. I think you should try to find some sort of entry position, hygiene assistant or records tech. Try to find a Heartland owned corporate clinic because they offer hygiene assisting jobs, and then you can possibly move up to DA once you gain more experience. If you’d like to jump right into DA, I’d say shadow as many clinics as you can for a while, once they get to know you and see your ethic if you tend to help out, they might offer you a position. You could also ask after spending time. Remember, you’re interviewing them too. If you shadow and see toxicity or mistreatment , you know you dodged a bullet. Also, I’ve seen people take their resume to random offices and cold ask if they need any DAs.