Academic and/or career advice needed

Hi all, I'm trying to make some education and career decisions, and I'd like to get DU's opinions on this.

The back story:
I graduated with a BFA in Studio Art a few years ago(concentration was jewelry and metalworking). Since graduating, I've worked for a friend's business as an industrial mechanic. Recently, I've become interested in graphic design and have been working with adobe illustrator,photoshop,inDesign, and have learned how to design websites.
My friend's company recently had to close and I was laid off, so I started looking into getting a job in the graphic design field. Unfortunately, the job market is not great at the moment, especially since I don't have a degree in graphic design and don't have a huge amount of experience in the field-and I'm competing against people who do have those sort of credentials.
So, I next decided to re-enroll in school and go for a degree in graphic design(both because I want more experience, and because I'm sort of waiting out the economic downturn). Unfortunately, I was told that since I already have a BFA, I can't get financial aid to get a second one (although I can get financial aid to get any other type of undergraduate or graduate degree). This is a problem because my university doesn't offer a master's degree in graphic design.
I also considered a MBA in marketing, or an MFA in my original major. Unfortunately, I've missed the deadlines for enrolling in either and would have to wait another year.

So now, I really don't know what to do. I'm still looking for work. I'm still working on my graphic design portfolio. I don't have the money to start my own business, and I've lost my workshop for jewelry and metalworking (I would work out of my friend's business at night since my house is not appropriate for it).

I don't mean to sound like I'm whining, because I do have a lot to be grateful for, and I know that many people out there are having a harder time than I am. I'd really just like to get some other perspectives on this situation.
Thanks for reading.

more education is not necessarily going to help you.

understand that there are 5 gazillion people out there posing as graphic designers. 95% of them are shit.

helpful hint: do some research on the printing trade. learn about prepress. go talk to some shop owners and see if you can get a foot in the door.

it's a quick way to get into the graphics world and start getting paid, plus you'll gain a slew of skills that run of the mill designers DON'T have.

the biggest problem with designers is that their design vision doesn't match with the reality of production. master the vision part and production part and you'll be very marketable. and you don't need more education to do this (and in terms of commerce, websites are one thing, but marketing departments are still spending money for marketing collateral, business cards, brochures, etc.).

I've been hitting sign shops and graphic design firms for possible job openings up until now--I hadn't really considered the printing side of the equation. I'm not really sure that I need more education for any of this either. Thanks for your input!