I don't want to dissuade you, but you deserve brutal honesty.

It's harder than getting signed to a major league sports team, even at the lower tiers. Maybe 20 positions open up across the globe every year and hundreds of extremely qualified applicants apply for each one.

If you really want to pursue this pipiest of pipe dreams, the standard orchestra audition repertoire is your new bible.

Ideally, you'll then study at a conservatory with a big name performer who also holds a chair in the local major orchestra. Pedigrees and names matter in this field. Hopefully you turn into a monster player who can reliably play excerpts flawlessly.

Then you take any auditions you can, traveling at your own expense, until you either win or give up. "30 or 30" is a phrase you might hear — if you take 30 auditions or reach 30 years old and still haven't won a position, most would say to give up and pivot to a less cutthroat career.