Some questions for dealers

[young Nut]

To make a long story short, I graduated in May from UGA with a BBA and moved out to Reno (mainly to be closer to family, I have no family east of Colorado) I have been searching for jobs here in the area for my background (insurance) and am having very very little luck. I graduated with a good GPA, have past work experience, there just doesn't seem to be any openings here for my background.

I am in need of a job very soon, as I am becoming a burden on others around me (monetarily speaking.) So I thought about dealing poker, but I have some questions.

Is there any way to deal poker without going to dealer school? The program that I looked at here costs around $900 for a 6 week training period.

How hard is it to get financial assistance or is there scholarships for dealer school?

What kind of money could I expect starting out, say within the first few months?

How hard is it to get a job dealing at a decent Casino?

How many of you have college degrees or graduate degrees but deal poker?

Sorry for so many questions, I am just trying to figure out the right thing to do, and this is a serious decision for me.

[VORP]

I live in Vegas and there are basically no openings that I know of for dealers. I doubt Reno is much different. Maybe things will open up a bit around WSOP time but who knows. He only way to learn how to deal outside of school is to have another dealer teach you which doesn’t sound like it’s an option for you. $900 is a pretty good deal; no one offers financial aid that I know of. A degree won’t help you with dealing poker; some dealers have a degree but most don’t. Pay can be fairly good if you deal quickly and happen to land a nice shift in a nice room, but don’t expect much starting out. Good luck with whatever you do.