Fame
Unless you're one of a handful of highly successful directors, you'll never be famous. And, let's be honest, even if you can make a living as a director, even if you manage to get rich, the chances of you being a member of that ultra successful group are just slightly better than your odds of becoming a member of the Avengers.
Awards can help with a little boost of short-lived fame, but your chances of being known outside of the film community and to film geeks is slim to none.
Some directors can achieve a certain level of fame among genre enthusiasts with cult hits. Ever heard of Sam Raimi, George Romero, or Joss Whedon? All started as cult successes. But becoming a cult success is impossible to predict. You'd have a better time trying to predict who's going to win the lottery.