I had a girlfriend who had the college degree but not much practical experience. She painted portraits of my daughters and other friends for practice and to show to prospective clients. Through her then-husband's employment, she wound up in a popular resort town in Colorado and worked her arse off getting known there with a booth in the summer at the local outdoor market, in galleries, wherever she could, all the while keeping up her skills.

She has since gone on to paint portraits of the movers and shakers of the world, including former president Gerald Ford. She gets flown to mansions all over to take photos of her "subjects" then works from those and from actual sittings.

I think for her it got a bit boring though. Last I knew she was still doing portraits but was branching out into also doing paintings of architectural landmarks/homes, etc. and still doing very well financially and artistically.

I treasure her early work of my girls.

Good luck to you.