Keyword Competition in the SERP

Let's say I'm looking up a keyword in Google and the top results are just some miscellaneous articles, but they're on some powerhouse sites dedicated to the broader niche. I know there's no way I could quickly outrank the powerhouse site for their main targeted keywords, but if they're just random articles does that mean they're not going to be an issue?

I'm not really sure I understand how authority in Google works for sub-articles, can someone explain a little?

Too broad question. If your content is HQ and your domain is not brand new you can rank quite fast.

content hq is the most important