How do you find a job?
 

Don't laugh but I am currently a graduate student who is about to graduate this fall. I don't know what steps are to be taken to find a job as a professional painter. I don't even know how to do something as trivial as applying for a job at McDonalds. Can any of you give me advice on how to get a job, any job after I graduate, especially if it's geared towards painting majors?

Almost all artists are self employed. Very few places actually hire someone as a "professional painter", and then it's usually only as a one time thing, to complete a specific task like paint a mural or paint scenery for a theatre production.

The best place to start would be to get a book on art marketing (several are listed on this site) and see how other artists line up work for themselves.

Also, most artist do not make enough money by doing art to support themselves. Some have other jobs that provide most of their income, sometimes completely unrelated to art, and sometimes related, such as illustrators and art teachers, and do their own art part-time. Others have outside sources for their support, such as a spouse, parents, inheritance, or retirement income. It is only the upper level of most successful artists that can support themselves purely by doing art, and they have generally worked a lot of years to get to that point.

There are some careeer and art marketing books in two sections of the Stroke of Genius bookstore.

GettingStarted
Marketing-Sales