Your greatest asset is your novelty value. When you finally become a professional, for six months or so (or at least until the next wave of graduates and wannabees are disgorged from their training and trample all over you), you’re brand spanking new, and this is your best chance of getting a foothold. Everybody – producers, agents, directors – wants to be the one to discover the next big thing, so you’ll be paid levels of attention that, however slight, will seem a distant memory even a year later.