Good product designers are in high demand, and a good education should open doors for you that aren't available to the "average" applicant. A cursory Google search tells me that the median for PD is closer to $50K, and some sites have an average of $75K. That's more like it.
Are you looking at design jobs that pay well?
If you are going to attempt to help, at least try to get your head out of the clouds yourself. You don't start at the middle or the top of a salary range fresh out of school. This person needs cash and they need it now. Any position that needs a breathing human will do for the time being.
That's an absurd statement. Was it a good education or not? If not, then sure, OP is probably screwed. If so, there's nothing stopping them from obtaining the median or higher for your target position. I didn't say senior product designer or product manager, I said product designer. That's easily achievable straight out of college. I beat the median salary for my chosen profession after graduation, as have other people who shared their stories on this very thread. It happens all the time.
Confidence isn't going to pay the bills and a kid that walks in with the "I'm so special" syndrome is going to have a hard time of it. She needs a bite of a reality sandwich, not more coddling.
Coddling forums exist somewhere, but not here.
Confidence has nothing to do with an "I'm so special" attitude. You are thinking of arrogance or entitlement, which are completely different things. As several others have observed, advising the OP to take whatever menial job that comes their way is potentially the worst course possible. Minimum wage, while better than nothing as a stopgap, will not even put a dent in $180K unless it's a short-lived stepping stone. I was reacting to the OP's perception that their job prospects were extremely poor, which suggests either that they don't believe in themselves, or that there are underlying issues with their described educational background.