How would you handle this situation with your mother in law?

[Justin]

This is the back story - I recently completed my M.A. in Religious Studies with a focus in Church History. As the completion of my degree neared I realized I may not be able to do as much with the degree as I once thought. I began this Church History degree because I wanted to teach history. I thought focusing on Church History would allow me to have the chance to teach history in the community college system. I figured I would be sellable to colleges because I had an M.A. for a Seminary, so I thought schools would think I was qualified in two subject areas. Well, I realized I was not sellable, so I took additional graduate level History classes to meet the requirements to teach in the community college system. I now have an M.A. in Religious Studies with and additional 18 hours of history; however, no one wants to hire someone with a Religious Studies degree. These schools are looking for someone with an M.A. in History. I spoke with several history professors and they all recommend I finish the M.A. in History since I only have one year left in the program because I took additional history classes. I was discouraged and began to look for jobs and any place that would hire me. I have put in applications to places to anywhere from McDonalds to University teaching positions. I am not above any job at this point. Unfortuantely, I am coming up short because no one wants to hire someone with an M.A. to clean toilets or stock shelves because those potential employers know I do not plan on staying if I find something better. I am getting married in two weeks, and I decided that completing the M.A. in History will be beneficial in the long run when it comes to finding a job. I was preparing to sign contracts on two teaching positions when the schools decided they could not hire someone without an M.A. in History. In other words, I had two jobs lined up and did not get them because I did not have the M.A. in History. This decision to complete this degree did not sit well with my fiancee, but once our pastor told her that it made sense to finish this degree she began to warm up to the idea. She is an accountant, and she understands that the next nine months will be rough because she will be supporting us while I finish. I promised her I will do what I can to get a part-time job to help with bills as I finish this degree. The problem comes in with my future mother-in-law. My future mother-in-law is wondering if I am only doing this degree so I would not have to get a job. She also wonders if I am going to just remain in school forever while her daughter supports me. She trashes me behind my back and is rude to me to my face. She was once very nice to me until she learned about this decision to go back to school. She told me that no one wants to hire someone my age with no real work experience. I calmly reminded her that I have almost ten years of retail experience and I have been a graduate assistant for the past two years which has allowed me to gain experience teaching and performing other adminstrative duties. She ignores these facts and continues to make me out to be a bum. My fiancee is torn between me and her mother and wants this whole problem to go away. My mother-in-law continues to mock me and insult me behind my back and to my face. What do you recommend?