My advice: Get an entry level job in academic administration. I joined a graduate program as an administrative assistant. I go to every speaker event, I interact with our students on a daily basis and share ideas, I attend events hosted by other departments across campus. I can take classes each semester. My network of friends and colleagues has grown enormously simply because I exist on this campus. Fast forward five years, I have received two promotions and now make a salary that is greater than some of the colleges in my area are offering to assistant professors. And I haven't had the joy of reading and writing beat out of me by a system where a successful career is akin to winning the lottery.