* 20 BBY: His /tahlko/ (clan) was destitute after earthquakes on Aleen. He and a couple of friends booked passage on a Republic transport to Onderon. They found work demolishing buildings damaged during the war and the Siege of Onderon. This is where Zoot learned the basics of using explosives.
* 19 BBY: His first illegal job was working with Saw Gerrara's partisans near the start of the Galactic Empire. He stole explosives from his employer for them, and they attempted to assassinate Sim Aloo. The attempt failed, and the partisans stiffed him on his fee. He was unemployed and worried that his crime would be discovered. He used his meager savings to book a passage to Corellia.
* 18 BBY: He had to take work as a machinist on Corellia. He was able to steal some explosive material again. He stored it in his hideout and used it to make a few grenades at a time. He sold the grenades to a Drall explosives merchant named Bipit on Shipwreck Row in Coronet City.
* 17 BBY: He started to make good money when an unfortunate accident leads to his hideaway workshop exploding. He lost everything and was back to where he'd started.
* Through Bipit, he arranged a sabotage gig with a group of Klatooinan mercenaries in the employ of Huuda Nem'ro Aazix, the Hutt. The job went well, and he worked with that crew for a while.
* 16 BBY: He is interested in breaking into the more lucrative Bounty Hunting business as a way to earn more money. Klatooinian mercenary captain Grrr-ootoh gives him a letter of recommendation.

5 - Favor: He owes a Selonian explosives dealer named Bipit for helping him find a new life after his hideaway workshop on Correllia exploded
5 - Outcast: Zoot lost his connection to his tahlko (clan) when he took up a life of crime on Onderon. He would like to make amends someday.