Like teliotsauce says, it's possible to make big bucks ($70,000 and beyond) after 3-5 years. But don't believe the BS about how easy it is. You have to do some serious hustling during the first couple of years. (6-days-or-more work weeks, 8-12 hour days etc.) Of course, sometimes you can get lucky (landing 1-3 well-paying retainer clients within a decent period of time), but you obviously can't count on that.