<human>: Can you condense the text into a few key points?

I'm putting this here on r/jobs as opposed to r/writing or somewhere because it seems that this subreddit is perhaps, for good or ill, populated by those who might look at things from a more numbers rather than dream/ go for it perspective, and I'm thinking that's what I need, at least for the time being. 

My situation is that I'm a college graduate working a low end job upwards of around 6 days/ 40 hours a week, and truly needing a second, night job if I'm to live more than paycheck to paycheck. 

But what I (at least think I would) want to do is work in some capacity in writing/media. I'm well aware of what is the long term downfall of the media and writing world of the United States, where your best hope at times seems to be to write unpaid for the Huffington Post, where at best you'll get some page views, and eventually get some small sum of money from the multi billionaire who lives there.

I wrote, at times I think well, others perhaps not, for my college paper  and my high school paper as well, have received correspondence from semi national figures regarding my writing, won awards, and even here and by friends/others told I have a knack for the written word. But that doesn't translate into rent getting paid, etc. 

Is there a route to achieve this? I work early am every day, and often until late in the evenings, and it doesn't offer a lot of going around in the day time to the types of places I'd assume I should be looking; also I don't have a nest egg/support network, it's merely my own work that propels me, so short of continuing to live the r/frugal lifestyle and eventually working 80 hours a week for the chance to take two weeks off, what route am I not taking? 

Is there something I can do to better myself, strengthen myself, and perhaps get a small, hobbit..ish, foot in the door?
<bot>: Is being a writer, whether freelance/journalist/etc, merely a pipe dream, or can it be done and rent still be paid?