The Many Careers of Derick Dillard
Derick Dillard’s career path has been pretty winding and complicated. With the announcement of yet another career pivot for the Counting On alum, we can’t help but take a look back at where it all began. We’ve collected all of the various jobs Derick has held since Duggar family followers met him way back in 2014. Is it possible that he finally found his calling?
Derick was taking a break from accounting when he met Jill Dillard
Derick Dillard and Jill Dillard initially met through her father, Jim Bob Duggar, who was serving as Derick’s prayer partner. At the time of their meeting, Derick was living in Nepal after taking a sabbatical from an accounting gig. Following his return to the United States in 2014, the duo married and started their life together.
During the very early months of his marriage to Jill, Derick worked as an accountant at Walmart. He also appeared on the family’s reality TV series, Counting On, though he has long insisted he and Jill were not fairly paid for thier time or commitment to the show.
After leaving his accounting job, Derick and Jill became missionaries
It didn’t take long for Derick to move on from his gig at Walmart’s Arkansas headquarters. In June 2015, news broke that he had stepped down from the company after accepting a different position. He did not pivot into a different accounting role, though. Instead, he gave up his job to head overseas on a mission.
Between 2015 and 2017, Derick and Jill lived and worked in El Salvador as missionaries. Their son, Israel, was born in the United States but spent his early years in El Salvador. Upon their return home, things got a little complicated, and Derick’s work history became even more confusing.
He eventually enrolled in law school
After bouncing around in different ministry roles, Derick eventually enrolled in Law School. Jill shared his early achievements via Instagram, even accompanying him on his first day of school. While in school, Derick worked as a delivery driver, while Jill’s social media income appeared to help sustain the family.
Derick graduated in May 2021, earning a Juris Doctor Degree. The family documented the achievement on social media and on their blog. In February 2022, he passed the bar exam, allowing him to practice law in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Derick worked as an assistant district attorney and, later, an adjunct professor
After passing the bar exam, Derick landed a job as an assistant district attorney in the state of Oklahoma. The Dillard family sold their home and moved to a town on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border, making it easy for Derick to travel to and from work. While the move seemed to suit the family fine, the job didn’t actually last all that long.
Derick began working for the state of Oklahoma in October 2022. In January 2025, the Dillards announced that Derick had stepped away from his job to focus on “personal” projects. It is still unclear what those projects were. He did eventually move into teaching, though. Late last year, he announced that he had accepted a role as an adjunct professor at John Brown University.
Now, he’ll be signing up for the Marine Corps, though how that career will work out for him is anyone’s guess. It looks like another move is in the Dillard family’s future, though.
