I have worked in the film industry for over 18 years and I have produced, directed and photographed projects in film, commercial and music video markets.

I'm not talking about those post on here where the first time investor is posting about getting 50 doors in 90 days, almost always they will not tell you those doors are producing a net income of $30 a month, that's not an investment, that's a gamble where the "investor" is hoping for a favorable scenario when the Debt gets restructured at the end of the 7, or 10 year term, and then hoping the rent increase projections happened, hoping the vacancy turnover projections they forgot to account for don't come to fruition (you'll be amazed at how many people will have a 5% vacancy reserve, but they forget about the Unit turnover cost), Some get lucky swinging for the fences out the gate, many do not.  

What's the best avenue to produce income in the short term while I seek employment, so that I can continue to pursue my real estate endeavors as a side hustle until I can scale it over time into a full time gig?  

Just don't expect it to produce income once you move out.

But it's also important to recognize that oil will come back (although it could be a decade), it is an opportunity to buy at a discount in cities that produce many high-paying jobs in a good market.

BRRRR often produces very high cash on cash returns because the amount of money in the deal at the end if low.

I worked in private equity doing primarily multifamily and office acquisitions, asset management, and development for about 7 years until the 2008 financial crisis, when I transitioned to the debt side working at Freddie Mac Multifamily as a producer in the Southeast Region. 

You can buy/sell for other investors to produce additional revenue and to build relationships that can lead to more deals for yourself.It takes effort.

But i quickly realized buying a property between 2mil and 3mil after paying 30 year mortgage would produce about the same cash on cash (9% ?) 

Hard money loans don't typically look at you so much as they look at the deals ability to produce sufficient income for the debt service.