Taking a Look at Derick Dillard’s Resume: Why Can’t the Former Reality Star Hold Down a Job?
Derick Dillard is the gift that keeps on giving for the Duggars. I’m sure the family never expected when they hooked their precious Jilly Bean up with the then-missionary that he would bring such controversy to the family. While fans have criticized everything from Derick’s personal beliefs to his parenting skills, one major cause for concern is Dillard’s job history.
After all, in the Duggar’s world, the man is supposed to bring home the bacon and the wife is supposed to cook it up, but Derick has been unable to hold down a steady job. This has led some fans to believe he can’t possibly support his growing family.
Derick’s year at Walmart
When Derick Dillard returned from his missionary work in Nepal to marry Jill, he quickly snagged a gig at Walmart’s headquarters as an accountant. The job didn’t last too long, though. Dillard, now, 30 left his post after spending just a year crunching the numbers.
Dillard’s departure from the company came during the Duggar’s biggest scandal, and many fans surmised that he was let go from the retail
Missionary work
After Walmart, the Dillard family took on missionary work in South America with S.O.S ministries. The couple worked with the ministry for two years before parting ways to begin their own ministry work. While they did form their own ministry following their work with S.O.S, it seems like they didn’t really have a choice to make.
According to Inquistr, Derick and Jill were terminated by S.O.S because they had failed to learn Spanish in the allotted time. A former employee alleges that the ministry gives missionaries a set period to learn the new language, and the Dillard’s just couldn’t get it done. The coworker also noted that the pair were given the opportunity to learn the language in South America with a private language teacher instead of in larger classes in the United States like other employees of the ministry.
The Dillards form their own ministry
The Dillard family left S.O.S but still had their heart set on missionary work. They decided to utilize the ministry they developed during their time at S.O.S to garner donations from fans. The troubled ministry, however, was accused repeatedly of scamming the general public for donations. In fact, many opponents of the pair surmised that Jill and Derick were merely grifters.
In August 2017, Jill and Derick dissolved the non-profit. While the pair alleged that the end of their ministry was a personal decision that took multiple factors into account, many fans believe the ministry was plagued by mediocre management.
The family is axed by TLC
Around the same time that the Dillards decided to end their own ministry, they were also fired by TLC. Counting On, the show that followed the lives of the Duggar children has continued without the couple. Jill and Derick were axed from the show after Derick made offensive comments towards Jazz Jennings, a transgender teen who also appears on the network.
Dillard, according to People, insists he was never fired from the show, alleging that the family couldn’t be fired from a project they were not paid for. In Derick’s telling, he and Jill were volunteers on Counting On.
A year in youth ministry ends abruptly
After the Counting On fiasco, Dillard moved into youth ministry on a small Arkansas college campus. He worked through Cross Church, but the partnership ended in just one year. Fans started to surmise that Dillard may have cheated on his wife. Around the time Dillard left Cross Church he began posting passages about adultery.
Derick Dillard is now pursuing a law degree, while Jill keeps the family afloat through her blog and Instagram partnerships. Fans have been curious about the couple’s ability to maintain their lifestyle, despite their lack of traditional income. While Dillard insists it’s all about budgeting, fans are incredulous.
