Plus, there isn't an assurance of money like there is in other jobs, like in high-tech. Big music industry is hard to get into, and even though the road seems to be opening up for professional a cappella, it's still small fry compared to big-name shows like Whitney Houston, Brandy, and the Backstreet Boys. The upshot, of course, is the travel and all of the perks that being a professional musician brings. If you take a look at the tour schedules of some of a cappella's professional bands, you'll notice that they travel a lot to different places in the world. Sometimes they're in Europe, Asia, experiencing new cultures, and sometimes they're just in the area or across the coast or somewhere in the midwest.
Some bands get to go to the best clubs to perform, and are treated like kings at conventions.
In addition, doing radio and television ads is a great way to make some steady money, since royalties are paid each time the advertisement is aired. This doesn't mean that a cappella music is the only way to showcase your vocal percussion skills. You can bring it into an acoustic act full time, or even table it for just another cool parlor trick during one of your instrumental bands' shows. If you can't do it full time professionally, there's no reason why you can't be part-time professional. Keep in mind your goals all the way through, and just start slowly.