Its gonna boil down to a very simple formula, You get what you pay for. If your skill sets are that of a professional, for example having talents of a Massive Black artist, you can expect top dollar for your work. If your skills match that even some of the more talented people in this community then your expectations should be a great deal lower. Its like going from the NCAA to Pro football, the talent level jumps from good to the elite status. My advice to everyone(including myself) get your skill sets up. I work as an Art Lead and even I strive to improve on a daily basis. Learn Max, Maya or Xsi Which are industry standards. Learn how to model proficiently for games taking account for poly limits, rigging and animation aspects and type of game. Learn to model anything and if you can Characters are a real plus. Rigging and Animation can only bring more $$ to your bank account. Texturing will also do this for you. PS skills are a must.. and if you really want to be noticed get Zbrush and learn to sculpt. Its really the ultimate tool for all your modeling needs. Great for normal mapping too. Master these skills and you can charge what you want. Average means nothing in this business... Greatness is all that counts cause its what pays the bills. Nobody wants half arse artwork in their game. Hope this sheds some light from the real world... its brutal out here so keep modeling and texturing and you will get those contracts or that dream job your looking for. I did... GS out.