Oooh, I feel your pain. Even though I'm just new to Blender, I did go through the same problems back in early 2000 when most studios were using Maya, and I was a Lightwave and SoftImage guy. So, I had to learn Maya just to get into professional 3D. It was either that, or go back to traditional animation.
Btw, if you've watched the video, Germany is no.3 in the ranking. That means there are a lot of Germans who are aware of Blender's capabilities, and I feel you won't have any problems at all when you show your reel. And Blender Foundation is always looking for animators. Maybe you should consider working there? But, seeing that Blender has caught the attention of the industry, we will be seeing more of its use in big studios.
I use it primarily as a modeler and for camera setup, as well as some sculpting. And in every job I will apply for nowadays, I will specify that I now have a preference for modeling stuff in Blender, instead of their main software. ;)
Yeah I wondered, but nothing that I found ever required Blender. Maybe I‘m in the wrong city:D I don‘t think of myself as good enough to apply for jobs like that yet, but I guess you should always try no matter what. Almost everything I worked on the last month was with Blender or Zbrush^^ I have to shake my insecurities and stay positive:)
Well, you can market yourself as an artist who is dependent on both packages, just like I do here when I write in my application that I model and set up the camera with Blender, then animate in Maya.
Most companies I've dealt with are ok with it as they know I am still going to be using their in-house software for the main work. Most don't usually care where you make your models as long as you deliver on time and with the quality they are after.
I am writing another blog about Blender's most recent "bigtime" production credits, and I'm sure it would inspire you more. It will be posted after this next one I am writing about building a nice 3D/2D workstation on a budget, for those who want to get into 3D without spending a lot of money for it. ;)