Thanks to our culture, media, and the general dim-wittedness of most of the public, respect and appreciation is not often bestowed upon those who live well by their own means. A lot of heads are filled like balloons with aspirations of becoming demi-gods in the fields of arts, entertainment, or getting paid for doing as little as possible. Those who work for a good living are at times even perceived as less than those who desire fame, stardom, and riches.
The stark truth of the matter is that these multitudes of people daydream over the same fantasy goals which they will never achieve. It's a bigger problem when they can't accept the fact they will never achieve them. The simple point is this: if any of these career choices seem attainable to you, give up now and find a job.




Pro Athlete



American schools place far too much emphasis on sports programs. Scholarships for lacrosse or soccer over science and the arts are downright retarded imho. Especially seeing as how the chances of going pro in football alone are .08%.
In just two years' time before safety regulations were legislated in school sports, almost half as many students died from football injuries than by shootings since 1980. Brain damage due to spare time playing sports affects up to 20% of American students, as well.
Considering these are the youth granted a free ride through college, it may have somewhat of an affect on the general ineptitude prevalent in so many professions, don't ya think?
If that weren't bad enough, a whopping 78% of NFL players are bankrupt. And these are the lucky ones who made it. It's the same for athletes in many sports, according to Jamal Mashburn, former NBA great. Not only are your chances of becoming some legendary athlete unbelievably improbable, you probably wouldn't be able to handle your money anyway.



Musician/Rapper/DJ/Diva



Everyone knows at least one of these guys. The one that claims his band is "gonna make it". Or that he's a rapper just a skip and jump away from being the next Eminem. Or maybe you remember that girl from the school chorus that thought she knew her calling in life was to be the next Beyonce.
Feel reassured next time you think to yourself that these people are naive and delusional. Because they are.
By the time the social network MySpace was all but defunct, over 5,000,000 bands were flooding pages in order to promote their "singular skills". Millions more abound on websites all over the net. Television shows such as American Idol and the X-Factor dry heave their way through tens of thousands of contestants hopeful in their chances to hit it big in music. Most of them don't even realize their severe lack of talent or gumption. And none of them are ready to accept the plain fact that competition alone renders their chances nil.
Even if anyone manages to obtain a formal contract, only the smallest percentage of each unit sold will be seen. If your act consists of more than one individual, you can expect a mere 2.8% of net sales.
Know the "Fingerbang" episode of South Park where Randy tells his harrowing story of being part of a boy band? It's based in fact. Normally a newly-signed act would be well-advised to avoid a monetary advance. Any money given by the studio is on the condition it's paid back, so after around 40% is taken off the top in tax, you only get your percentage once the money from unit sales goes back to the label - so you better be able to sell, and sell A LOT. Any talent dumb enough to take an exorbitant amount of money at the onset but fail to make good in sales is screwed. Such was the case for 30 Seconds to Mars. These guys were established, even went platinum - but were so over their own heads they ended up making 0 money off their album sales. The band Violent Soho were a sold-out act in Australia and hit U.S. charts... and then got work at McDonald's.



Indie Filmmaker



People seem to think that the label of "independent" grants them some kind of excellent chance at making it big with their own crappy film made on a pathetic budget and virtually no AV skills.
But the name actually belies the standing on independent films on the whole. Around $3,000,000 are made by indie films every year. These projects actually come out in the thousands in America alone. Venues such as Sundance Film Festival receive well over 4,000 submissions annually, and only a handful of the best will ever make it to their screen.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of the public still go to major theaters in order to view major movies. Very little money in comparison to the $3 billion made by major production companies and theaters goes to indie film screenings, and so their numbers are going down, despite the number of indie films created constantly increasing.
Sundance estimates that of all the independent films brought to their attention alone, between 10,000 - 15,000 of these which accrue a following don't even get distributed. Even if filmmakers forgo festival and theatrical distribution in favor of digital and on-demand distribution, they're still screwed. Independent films clutter channels to no end, and even so, are lucky if they gross an average of $25,000 in revenue.



Artist



Too many saps seem to think this a great career idea. All by themselves, they can create great works of art and earn money based solely on their unique, singular interpretations put to canvas, in comics, pottery, or sculpture, among others. And almost all of them have, or will, end up in a gutter.
It goes without saying the market for artists is deplorable. It's also common knowledge that fine arts rank as one of the 10 most useless majors any graduate can have. Think about the droves of others that don't even have the most basic of education on the subject.
Legally, even the best at their work can't classify themselves as "artist" without a taxable income of at least $10,000 a year. While pitifully low and well below poverty level, even mid-level established illustrators don't make that much.
For instance, Jim Zub is a great comic illustrator with works such as Skullkickers. His series were absolute sell-outs and remain in big demand. Unfortunately, he claims someone of his fame can barely expect to make $37.50 a page with today's market rates...and that's if they're really lucky.



Your Retarded Youtube Channel



Every other idiot has a channel they use to ruin video games, give poor reviews, bad instructions, showcase shitty animation projects, play bad music, or any kind of time-wasting crap. While their content may be different, they all have one thing in common: they seriously believe they could be the next big sensation.
Problem is their ideas are far from new. The internet broadcasting market is saturated beyond belief, to the point where an individual can expect to work for years with stable dedication in order to see any significant income.
Speaking of income, even that is shrinking quickly. Monetizing views resulted in a drop from around $9.30/1k views to around $6.30/1k views. And no, not all views are monetized. Only about 20% are like this, and Youtube keeps over half the payoff.
Furthermore, users whose channels hold millions of subscribers are complaining about losing over half their ad revenue, like user boogie2588.
Of course, the chances of being like one of the few who got their rep as a fluke, lucky enough to sit back and let views roll in while doing nothing, are near impossible. So you could go the way of Olga Kay and hire people to do your work. Although just fyi, that'll cost you hundreds a week. Olga is one of the top Youtube users ever, with millions of subscribers. Even earning around $100,000 from it, she claims if she knew the trouble involved, she never would've began her channel.



Novelist



These days, any idiot can write a book. Any idiot can publish a book on their own, and copyright their manuscripts through the government for a nominal fee. The problem is that unless you want your work to end up sandwiched between a notepad and mini bible in the local dollar store (if that), you're going to have to write something epic. And chances are quite good you're not J.K. Rowling.
Even if you finish your manuscript and ship it around, you have less than a 1 in 50 chance of scoring a publication deal. If you were to get that lucky, you've got a 50% chance of being profitable. And you better be, considering a publishing house shells out a lot of money for editing, jacketing, and shipping, among other expenses.
If you would like to self-publish, you should make sure your spelling and grammar are excellent, let alone your subject matter enrapturing. If you fuck up, you might lose your opportunity to ensure a 50% chance at making a whole $500 a year.



Acting



There's a reason they talk about the jobs celebrities have had before fame. It's supposed to be inspirational, but for the wrong reasons. If you're not an editor for a major tabloid, let it serve as a warning to you: Your chances of ever achieving fame, success, or even low-grade work as an actor is almost zero.
The Labor Bureau for Statistics records the number of unemployed actors at a whopping 28.5%. To place this into perspective? That's a higher number than the national unemployment rate, and twice the number of African Americans in the entire country. Know the Screen Actors Guild (SAG)? They report the vast majority of established actors outside the current Hollywood A-List as making a mere $1,000 a year.



Studio Production Crew



Some people like to think that while others believe there's a chance to make a name for themselves on the big screen, they won't have to suffer disappointment or embarrassment. Because unlike wannabe actors, their goal is to work behind the scenes. Perhaps makeup, costuming, editing, soundtrack, stunt double, camera work, whatever. After all, it takes a lot of work to get a movie out. And since they took a few classes here or feel they have great skills there, landing a big paying job on a set should be a breeze, earning them plenty of kudos and encouragement.
Too bad for them. Believe it or not, the unemployment rate for film crew workers is a staggering 43.5% as of 2012. The majority of the ones that exist have a union, making them expensive and in high-demand. Statistically? You honestly have a better chance at that musician or acting thing than ending up anywhere near a professional movie studio for crew work.



Starting Your Own Business



We've all seen the small business thing in action in our hometowns. You get some lazy, self-proclaimed genius (bonus if they've never worked a day in their life) with no skills, no business education, no accounting education, and an overblown idea they think is fantastic. They refurbish an old building, come up with a kitschy name, obsess over cute business cards, and waste every cent of their bank loan. Cuz they end up folding within a year anyway.
We live in a society of lazy, incompetent bastards constantly looking for a way to sit back and make money while not lifting a finger. That's probably the reason 95% of start-up businesses fail due to inability to meet revenue goals. Worse, almost 40% will lose every cent of the money banks and customers invest in their failed enterprise.
Chances of succeeding at this "King of the Mountain" game are actually worse when these people attempt to start a business more than once. Serial entrepreneurs have only a 30% chance of making it. Experts claim that even those with experience in the field will end up more in debt than if they just start one business, fold, and accept the fact they've already lost everything and get a real job.



Lottery



It's said that the lottery is a "tax on stupid people". Truly, your chances at ever hitting a state/tri-state lottery are astronomical. Yet millions of people every day waste that last few dollars gambling on a chance at becoming an overnight multimillionaire.
Americans have spent the same amount on lottery tickets since 9/11 as the U.S. government has on the Afghan war - $532.6 billion. And statistically, your chances of being hit by lightning or eaten by a shark are far more likely than be able to hoard all that money for yourself.
Ironically, the kind of money at stake here is enough to cover thousands of dollars worth of groceries for every American in a year, fill the gas tanks of 685,000 vehicles a year, send 26 astronauts into space, or purchase 2.4 million iPads or laptops for students. Alas, if and when nobody ends up hitting the lotto jackpot, none of that money goes into these causes. None of the poor hopefuls that spend their money get it returned, either. And furthermore, most lotto winners blow through their winnings only to end up in the poor house anyway. Just ask Evelyn Adams, William Post, Suzanne Mullins, and Ken Proxmire.


Sources:

artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com, newsmax, wsj, comicsbeat, ncaa, slate, betterstorytelling.net, gobankingrates, entrepreneur, bloomberg, jpupdates, techdirt, hollywoodreporter