I imagine it's all about what you put into it. If you put a lot of work into it, listening to what makes a good sound, being analytical about why certain things work, figuring those things out, finding out what works for yourself via trial and error, getting the gear to get field recordings, learning how to use it, and learn from your mistakes, all while staying dedicated to it, it's inevitable you're going to be doing well for yourself. If you clock in, shuffle sounds around in Pro Tools for eight hours, then turn off the second you clock out, you're probably not going to fare as well.

This is a question that I have spent a lot of time thinking about lately. I work as a dialogue editor, and while it is great to have a Pro-Tools/audio job that's secure and 9-5 (ish), I spend my days editing clicks and pops out of VoiceOvers. Let's just say that it's not exactly thrilling. But it pays the bills...

But here's the thing, if you spend more than you make, you will always find yourself in financial trouble, even if you get to Hollywood level. I've been reading a lot of stuff by guys like The Minimalists and In Over Your Head about how to set up your life to better facilitate doing what you love. It's been very inspiring. The idea of paring down your life (and Stuff) so that the money you make becomes more than you actually need, whether you bring in $30,000 or $500,000. I won't say any more than that (for fear of becoming preachy), but it's entirely possible to be happy and fulfilled making $1500-$2000 a month.

It's a question of what you want. If you want the house and the family it's going to cost you a lot more money than living out of a studio or bedsit. If you want to be able to keep up with all of the new techie toys that get released every every six months you're going to have to find a way to make enough money to get all the stuff without drowning in debt, not an easy task.

But the first thing is to figure out what you want, then budget accordingly.

My dream is to become an itinerant troubadour sound guy. I want to travel the world with my MacBook Pro and PCM-D-50 and work with as many people on as many things as I possibly can. I'm about six months away from being able to set off. I'm in the process of selling all of my extraneous gear, computers, clothes, books, shoes, frying pans and kitchen gadgets, and trying to save up as much safety money as I can. I know for a fact that I sure as hell won't be making a ton of money, but I don't need money. I need people and work and happiness and fulfillment, which my current well-paying, VERY SAFE job simply isn't giving me.

Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't, but as I'm sure someone much smarter than me has already said:

Failure is success, after a fashion.

I'm currently fortunate enough to be employed full-time as a recording engineer, and some percentage of that job --plus a fair amount of non-conflicting freelance work-- is sound design. Like Mr. Palmer I am reluctant to discuss actual numbers.

I think it's a good, valid question. Everybody wants a career that they enjoy, but if it doesn't pay the bills then what's the point? You'll need the money not only just to live on but also to purchase the gear, software, mics and recorders you'll need to stay relevant and unique in a rapidly-growing workforce with ever-shrinking crew sizes and budgets.

So, I'm going to offer up a cautious "yes" to your question. But I'll qualify my answer by saying that a union job is the way to go (solid weekly salaries + benefits), and it's best to be located in a city where there is a lot of work to go around (LA for film, Chicago, NY and Boston for commericals).

As with any form of creative employment some people do very well, some okay and some struggle.

I personally find it inappropriate to discuss my personal financial circumstances with people outside of my close family and friends.

My suggestion is do some research into what libraries offer and don't offer.... any library will tell you what people are searching for and not finding as they want to bridge those gaps in their stock. You CAN make a living just from selling sound effects on sound effect libraries but you need to focus your time on what will sell and what won't. 80% of what a library stocks sits unsold while 20% makes money so if you can hone in on that and produce the popular sounds that aren't already saturating the libraries you could do well.

I can estimate that with a few thousand GOOD targeted sounds you should be able to make around a £1000 a month and with maybe 10,000 good sounds, maybe double that.

Good luck!