I suspect that even if hardness or effort could really be quantified and compared, there would be some glaring counterexamples to this rule. I know someone who is a classical violin performance major. She has a very heavy, difficult workload.

Which then brings up the painful question, with today’s mountain of recorded music and audio and AI techniques to make Joe Average sound like Heifitz, how many classical violinists do we, as a society, need?

If, in a population of 7B+, the children of top .1% in wealth can supply that, then they pay their own way. They can also more easily economically survive the ups and downs of a musician’s career.

Just doesn’t seem fair, though...reinforcing the natural elitist bent in classical music.

That question has nothing to do with fact that theory where money are reward for hard degree is bonkers.

Another glaring contra example: I studied computer science. I like it, but fact is that getting that degree is much less work and easier then chemistry, history and whole bunch of other degrees. I however earn the most.