I do not know what her situation is. But a lot of the people doing that kind of work are interns or volunteers and do not get any money or benefits. Typically the ones who do get paid but who do not have some type of special qualifications make just a couple thousand dollars a month.
There is a huge glut of kids with “environmental degrees” these days. Because of the media they all want to “help the environment”. So the competition for the higher paying permanent jobs is fierce. Half of my nieces are working on environmental degrees. One niece who graduated a couple of years ago is working in a doggie day care. None of them have ever spent a night in the wilderness alone. So to me it seems nonsensical.
