Ok, I wanted to keep quiet but have to weigh in here. I went to art school as well. I came out with more than $100,000 in debt. I couldn't find a position in my field and my dream job seemed like a lost cause. You know what I did?

• I moved back in with my parents, as embarrassing as that was at the time. It did serious damage to my social life, but I feel I had no other/better options.

• I took ANY job. No job was beneath me. I scrubbed windows, I did errands, I did sh**work. Why? Because I had a responsibility to repay my loans and that came above my petty pride. Any thoughts I had of entitlement only stood in the way of success. I knew I was destined for something better, even if it took a long time. In short, when times got tough I sucked it up. (Frankly, in this economy, I find the attitude that a "job is beneath anyone" quite foolish)

• I did internships. I did stuff for free, just for the experience. I put up with a heap of abuse from crappy bosses. I did stuff where my talents were, quite frankly, exploited. It wasn't easy – nothing worthwhile is. But I learned a lot... sometimes because of my jobs, sometimes in spite of it. No one handed me my dream job. I paid my dues, and I am proud that I did.

• I kept my eye on the prize. Everything I did was for my ultimate goal – to be a self-supporting artist. When you read stats like "5% of Fine Arts graduates are able to support themselves in their field" you know how tough it is. Self-expression in business is a luxury for those with power... I was determined to earn that power. And sometimes, pay the price.

• I made hard choices. Do I take a job with better earning potential or one that furthers my career? Do I turn away clients that I may find personally offensive? How much do I value creature comforts over creative independence? Do I take the job I have to do over the one I want to do?

These are the kinds of decisions that are in front of you now. It's tough out there, so you have to be tougher. Hard as nails tough. You may even have to make personal sacrifices/concessions for the time being. But you have to decide what is the most important thing to you, and then make a plan to achieve it. If you think I'm full of it, guess what, I did that dance and now I can call my own shots. And... I now have pink hair.