For most of us, if we do a good job we get to keep our job. And, of course, a lot of people get to keep their jobs even when they do sub-par work.

But life is different in professional golf, where only the top producers get to come back year in and year out. And, unfortunately, for every pro who makes the grade on the all-defining money list, another will fail.

Such attrition comes into full focus every fall. At the moment, all three tours -- PGA, Champions and Nationwide -- are into their final three weeks of the regular season.

Translated, “grinding’’ takes on a new meaning for guys like Andrew Magee. The Scottsdale pro sits in the No. 137 spot on the PGA Tour’s money list, and only the top 125 survive unless they have some type of previous exemption.

Magee, who is 43 and has played on the PGA Tour for 22 straight seasons with the exception of 2004, when he was sidelined with a serious foot injury, knows what lies before him. It’s not exactly a bed of roses, even if Magee stops to smell them more these days.

“Yeah, I’m heading for Vegas and three straight weeks of it,’’ said Magee, whose resume includes four wins and over $8 million in all-time earnings. “I didn’t put my Q-School application in, so I’ll let the chips fall as they may.’’

Magee has earned $488,779 this season, which is about $65,000 less than the 125 th best player, Steve Lowery. Last year, a player needed at least $623,262 to make the top 125.

But it’s been a tale of two seasons for Magee, who collected $375,000 of his current total in his first four weeks. Since June 1, he has made just a over $40,000 while missing seven of 11 cuts.

Always the easygoing guy, Magee laughs when someone suggests that he hasn’t been playing enough.

“Hey, when you don’t play that well, you don’t get your name in the newspaper,’’ Magee responded. “It’s what happens when you start missing 10-footers.’’

Chances are Magee will get into 15 to 20 tournaments next year even if he doesn’t end up among the top 125. But most of those potential starts depend on sponsor’s exemptions.

“It’s one of those deals where I’ll find out who my friends are,’’ he explained.

Magee is not the only pro in overdrive. Veterans like Rocco Mediate (No. 126), Tommy Armour III (No. 127), Rich Beem (No. 133), Lee Janzen (No. 157), Shaun Micheel (No. 159), Paul Azinger (No. 185) and Steve Jones (No. 211) also are pressing.

The problem is, when you get that low on the money list, getting into the field becomes a crapshoot, especially when players start scrambling the last few weeks of October. Magee doesn’t have that problem because he is playing on a medical exemption.

Others are not as lucky. Scottsdale pros Kevin Stadler (No. 163), Jason Allred (No. 202), Danny Briggs (No. 206) and Jim Carter (No. 214) fall into that category. Chances are they’re already signed up for Q-School.

Speaking of East Valley guys on the bubble, Gary McCord is that very boy on the Champions Tour, where the top 30 money winners keep their cards and even get into the $2.5 million Charles Schwab Championship. McCord is No. 30 with $485,288, which is actually amazing for a guy who plays golf part-time when he’s not working for CBS.

It’s different for R.W. Eaks of Scottsdale, who doesn’t have a TV job to fall back on. Eaks is No. 34 on the Champions money chart with $437,028, which means he has to play hard the next two weeks.

Two other East Valley pros are No. 20-21 on the Nationwide list, where Jerry Smith and Joe Daley sit, respectively. That No. 20-21 bubble -- the top 21 will earns PGA Tour cards this season -- was created when Jason Gore (No. 2 on the Nationwide money list) won on the PGA Tour, freeing up an additional spot. Talk about precarious, Daley has five players within $10,000 of him, while Smith has $27,500 in breathing room.