Is it impossible to make it as a skier?

So first off my dream is to make it in skiing. Now I know, "Ski for fun and if it's right it will come to you!" seems to be a common remark to these type of threads. But this isn't a sponsor me thread. Skiing will always be fun and it comes to the lucky ones and some have to chase it. I started skiing when I was 3 and since then my love for skiing has grown. With this growth has come many more expenses to be had. I have gone from Local contest levels and am now starting to break into the North American seen.I'm sure like me, many of you have a dream like this too. I am from Canada and it seems to be harder to get noticed here than in the states. Winning multiple events and trying my hardest to get noticed doesn't seem to be cutting it. At the age of 16 now it's hard to see kids who are 12 years old picking up all these sponsors and getting noticed and starting to actually make it somewhere with there career. I plan on moving to a place with a better mountain once I graduate but up until then it seems to be impossible to get anywhere with skiing. Everything costs too much and I don't see how it is done. You see guys like sean jordan and nicky keefer and people like that who are in edits and shred all summer long and what not. How is it possible to afford to ski a glacier all summer? and how do these people afford the rest of the season? Do they work? Do they go to school? How do they make this work! I'm hoping that if we get the right answers this can be a tool for alot of people who have this dream. If you are a somewhat well known skier who does this in the summer please do share your stories.