The D.R. is no a place to start at the bottom.
Life is hard enough that way for the locals - imagine trying to progress from square one without the advantages of native language and family history.
If you aspire to having more than the average Dominican bloke then why exactly?
Having a degree is fine but a trade is better. Wages are low even for people with education.
All the people I know who do well here either do well in spite of the D.R. or would have done well anywhere.
Having no financial pressure helps.
The expats I know in the D.R. who earn a decent salary (and there are few of them) were all hired outside the D.R. so their package reflects the going rates in their country of origin plus recompense for living abroad and usually a great deal on housing and transportation.
There are stories of people starting out working for humble wages, doing a good job and eventually building a nice life here but it ain't glamorous. I beleive Mike Fisher knows a carpenter who did this. But generally in the D.R. if you do not have some special skill or knowledge that the locals do not then ask yourself why would you ever progress further than the locals? A small house with possibly a small car - no foreign travel and 500US$ per month to feed your family. Little to no savings and little prospect of ever becoming wealthy - especially as the Military, Police and Politics are not easy options for you.
Foreigners get paid far more in Haiti than the D.R.
This is because in the D.R. they can do everything the foreigners can do. (Apart from chiropractors, possibly
)
In Haiti - not so much. There is a lot less competition.
Think about Haiti - Get in touch with NGOs.
If you own a computer with internet access and have enough gumption to actually make it work you will figure out how.
Good luck.