How long did it take for you to make a living in the 3D industry?

I am somewhat new to the 3D world as I've only been doing 3D design work for about 2 years. I've learnt a lot in those 2 years and am soon off to university to study more in 3D design and animation.

I don't know if I have an answer to how long it would take to earn a living from being a 3D designer but from this website and also small jobs I do from people I meet on this site, I earn enough to go out and do things I wanna do. In terms of earning a living its for sure up to a 6 year commitment depending on how easy you pick it up. I've been quite lucky and been able to have access to programs others can maybe afford such as Substance Painter.

Regardless how long it takes to earn a living or if I even will, I plan on modelling for as long as I can as I just love doing it.

I'm also curious about what squallraziel asked.

I have an additional question for 3D professionals, too. What are your opinions on doing freelance/ commission work versus working for a company? Is most 3D design work done by freelance professionals?

Thank you for your answers, Beckstation, but it would be nice to hear from people who generate all of their income solely from 3D design and have been in the industry 5 - 10+ year. I love the input, but your opinions are not much different than my own. Please let someone qualified to answer tackle some of these questions and we can all learn something :)

Yes, that's an interesting subject too