I don't think many people working in vfx expect to earn as much as a doctor, lawyer or successful entrepreneur. They would like to be paid a similar rate to oth

I don't think many people working in vfx expect to earn as much as a doctor, lawyer or successful entrepreneur. They would like to be paid a similar rate to other highly qualified technical individuals working in a profitable field. VFX (also games) artists/developers work far, far harder than the average software engineer. They are often very highly qualified. However they're unlikely to earn as much as an equivalently qualified and experienced software engineer in another, less glamorous field, because the job is perceived as desirable. Hence, greater competition and rates are driven downwards. That's fair enough really, since most do enjoy the work. Though they'd like to see their friends and family slightly more often. The problems touched on in the article are that of subsidies and outsourcing. Subsidies have hit the vfx industry in CA pretty hard, no question. However, even if the subsidies were to go away, the studios are addicted to the reliable income that vfx driven films bring. They're also addicted to the low rates offered outside of CA. They'll keep pushing the race to the bottom until they find the place they can get the work done at an acceptable level for the cheapest possible rate. And that's unlikely to be in the US.