There's another element to this too which multiplies the problem: whether the competition is on a local or a global scale. Consider being a chef vs being a fil

There's another element to this too which multiplies the problem: whether the competition is on a local or a global scale. Consider being a chef vs being a filmmaker. If you're the best chef in a city, you'll be in considerable demand. See, for example, Tom Kitchin in Edinburgh, who is justifiably rather famous and whose restaurant is booked out months in advance. If you're the best filmmaker in a city, by contrast, no-one really cares. What matters there is if you're the best - or one of the best 10 or so - in the world. (Or at least, within a specific language.) Why? Because you can copy films and sell them all over the world without additional labour. You can do neither with food. So whilst the two are "creative" jobs, the output's transportability and replicability make a huge difference in just how good you have to be to be the best. (Not that I'm saying being a chef or running a restaurant isn't competitive. It's very competitive. And bloody hard work in other ways. Say what you like about being a filmmaker, it doesn't involve 14-hour days 360 days of the year to stay afloat.)