Poker as a part-time occupation during college

[CashinCam]

I'm a 20 (21 in October) junior majoring in finance at Oklahoma State University. I've been playing poker for 2 years and I've had a lot of success in the lower limits and small buy-in tournaments. I started play $3-$6 because my friend, who taught me to play, told me that was the best place to start. I consistently beat that game and started reading more and more poker literature. I moved up to $4-$8 and beat that game consistently. Feeling encouraged I decided to play a No-Limit Holdem tournament at Creek Nation casino and came in second. To this point I've played 5 $50 buy-ins consisting of 3 final tables, 4 cashes, a 2nd place, and a 1st. During that time I played 3 $115 buy-ins with 2 final tables, 2 cashes, and a win. (I'm getting to the question, don’t worry.) After winning back to back home games (NLH tournaments) my friend encouraged me to try No-Limit cash games. So I played the $1-$2 game at Creek Nation Casino in Tulsa. I won almost $500 the first night and though I feel I played well the next two times, I broke even or only made a few dollars. I felt I was making good reads and getting away from bad situations as well as calling people down correctly when I thought I had them beat. Is there a reason I play No-Limit more effectively in tournaments than in cash games? I'm hoping you can give me some pointers on where to go from here. I've made it through the last year and a half supplementing my income with my poker winnings. What is the best way to make poker a bigger source of income without having it over-take everything else. I know there are a lot of college age people who think they're going to become professional card players (I've beaten several of them out of there money) I don't expect that or necessarily want that life. I'm just interested in some pointers on moving forward with my game. Thanks a lot and sorry for the lengthy intro. Good Luck!