I pretty much agree with Xander re how you make a living as a free lance designer. You certainly need a
level of competence in the field, but even if you have that
level you will fail unless you have the personality type to
network and schmooze.
If you want to be a free-lance designer - a couple of recommendations.
1 - Get to
USITT and sit in on the workshop by the Hemsley
foundation that brings in a range of established lighting designers. They will talk about how they did it and how they made it work.
2 - Consider graduate school as a way of making yourself more competent, and establishing your
network of people who know your work. Try to find a school with one or more working designers who take their students with them when they light shows away from the school. Use these opportunities to
build your
network.
3 - If you are not the kind of person who can meet someone once and remember their name and make them like you, you will probably fail as a free lance designer.
And finally - It is likely you will not succeed as a free lance designer. Most who try fail. Ask yourself if you want to make a living as a designer, of if you want to be able to design lights. It is possible to do a lot of good work in non
LORT houses, community theatres,
etc. You can't live on it, but you can do a lot of work if you want.
In my experience, most folks who get an advanced degree in lighting design give up and just go do something else, and never light another show in their lives. Most of the folks working in the smaller venues are either folks who are self taught and usually lousy, or folks who see the smaller
venue only as a stepping stone to larger and more lucrative gigs.
If you don't get enough work to support yourself as a designer and end up with a day job - consider that you can still do a lot of creative work in lighting if you want to.