It can take years I'm not going to lie.
The best bet for you is to make sure your getting actual work experience while your in uni so when you do leave and look for a job and your employer asks you "have you got industry experience?" You can say " yes I have ...." And that goes a LONG way.
Make as many contacts as you can milk your uni and milk your tutors for any contacts possible work for as many as possible.
- you will have expereince
- you will know people to help wedge that door open for a way in to the industry
- you will have references from industry workers.
It is as cliche as it sounds in the real work "who you know not what you know" and it's true, you could be crap but know someone in the industry and just get handed a job.
Some "designers" I workw with use the magic wand in Photoshop, that's a big no no as it takes too long for an inferior product to what masks can achieve.