Employment for Computer Graphics in Non-Fiction Areas

[Some people who read this post think I mean the use of "photorealistic" computer animation in non-fiction fields.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I do not say it, I do not mean it, try to read what I say.  Thank you]

Now since most of the people who read this blog are friends of mine, and it never seems to be a good move to alienate friends (and if these are my friends, just imagine what my enemies must be like), nevertheless there has been a point of disagreement among my crowd. And it goes like this. I maintain that computer graphics / animation / whatever has failed in the non-fiction world and they maintain that I am wrong and that it is everywhere.

What would computer graphics in the world of non-fiction entail? It would entail the use of original, not canned, original 3D graphics techniques to visualize data for the purposes of non-fiction. Finance, medicine, science, transportation, urban design and other areas.

What would be the criteria for this success from my point of view?  It would be a healthy employment market for people who are skilled in these areas.

But no such market exists.

You don't think so, you think I am wrong, you think that this market does exist! Excellent! Fabulous! Show me.

I have looked and found nothing. In the area of Astronomy Visualization (one small subset of the potential area we are talking about) I know for a fact that nothing exists.   In the area of architecture, I have heard that most architectural visualization that is done is purely for sales (which I do not have a problem with per se), but that it is not used very much.  I can certainly agree that if it is used, it must be that they hire from within, which would make sense but does me no good.  

But in other areas, I am drawing conclusions from samples in the employment market, and could be guilty of being unsystematic, or perhaps just plain old sampling error, not knowing what to look for.

So if I am wrong, and you are quite sure that a market like this exists, for people to be hired in, please do not hesitiate to tell me where this market is. As I have been quite unable to find it and I have been looking for years.

Why does this matter?   It matters because when I chose to specialize in this field it was with the belief and understanding that I would be able to make a living in this field, whatever this field of computer animation would be.  So, lets us say the field of entertainment graphics is oversubscribed, which it is, but you can still see people advertising jobs and hear of people getting them.  But you do not, I maintain, see such things in the non-fiction side.   And that is a surprise to me, and if I am right, a surprise to all my friends who believe I am dead wrong, again.

So if there is work in this area, where are the jobs?  Show me.  It doesnt mean I will get these jobs, just show me where they are.

This all leads to a larger point that I am trying to establish, that SIGGRAPH should not encourage people to go into this field.  To do so would be disingenuous or destructive and certainly immoral.

So one more time I understand that I am wrong, but indulge me here as you correct the obviously misinformed, indulge me:  show me where the jobs are.