jweed, I like and fully endorse everything your node title implies.

Previously, to people who have been looking for inspiration in things to write in perl, I have given advice here and here. However, these people were employed.

In terms of using your Perl skills to get a job, it is essential that you move from the theoretical to the practical. In order to do this, pick an application that tickles your fancy, and go and write it. Get it working, upload it to CPAN and get a name for yourself. Unfortunately, this does not get you immediate money.

What you do have is Copious Free Time. Use it well, and use it wisely. Unlike Java, which costs $$lots to get trained and certified before anyone will take you seriously, the Perl world is much more of an open community, free both in the sense of beer and as in speech.

In terms of where to start, try and choose something you want to do - something you are interested in. If you have a website (or if you have a rich friend who does have a website), you could develop some CGI scripts to provide services. If the web does not appeal, think about text munging. This is what Perl is supremely good at.

Hope this helps

rinceWind