Come to Indiana where they have an "all-in" playoff system where every team makes the playoffs. There were 161 crews that applied for the playoffs and about 150 first round games. If you are not working in they playoffs you definitely have issues.
Here the big hurdle is making it to round 2 or round 3 (of 6 rounds). Only 80 crews make the second round and 40 crews make the third round. To get that far takes a very high assessment which is almost entirely a coach's vote. That makes the good ol' boy network alive and well but it's not networking with other officials but how many coaches you know. This comes from:
- Working for 30 years
- Working in education so you know a lot of coaches through other avenues
- Working other sports (especially basketball) so you get to know more ADs who have a big influence in the coach's vote
I've also learned this year living in a smaller community may help because again, you get to know coaches in your area through other means (kids in school, church, civic organizations). That is much harder in Indianapolis.
Please don't take this as whining. It is what it is and I'm happy to have worked 2 rounds most years I've been officiating (we almost made it to round 3 this year). I agree with other comments here that you do the best you can and rewards will follow.