Photography is actually a very rewarding and lucrative career. Speaking for the United States in which I am a native and I reside in to this day, the average salary for a photographer is right around $63,000, The range would be somewhere between $50,000 on the low side and on up to $70,000 on the high side. There are so many different factors in determining this salary also. If the person is working for a major company such as a major magazine or newspaper then they would certainly get paid on the high side of the scale that has been presented.
It would certainly be expected that a freelance photographer would not make as much unless they had some kind of partnership or agreement with a major publication. A lot of freelancers openly sell their photographs just like they were a storefront. The expected pay for these type of photographers is hard to determine because one could not determine the success rate of the freelancer in being able to sell their photos.
The more experience and the higher degree would mean a higher salary for a photographer at a major company. Freelancers on the other hand it would not matter because they are basing their worth on their finished product. A talented photographer could certainly expect to make a very good living for sure no matter if they are a freelancer or not.