Salary
Average Salary: $78,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $3,256,344
If you choose to walk the safer path and snag an office gig (even if it's just while you work on your own projects), you're looking at anywhere in the range of $52,000 a year for a skilled newbie up to about $130,000 a year for a seasoned code-meister (source). Basically, once you've been doing your thing and doing it well for a few years, expect to be popping about $80,000 between birthdays.
Now, while that might sound like enough to actually afford the iPhones you've been developing for, remember that money is only worth as much as you can get for it.
While this is true for just about any job, it's especially true when it comes to tech—many of the most coveted positions are in California, where the rent on an apartment the size of your mom's king-bed is about the same as you'd pay for a five-bedroom house in Whereami, Montana.
That said, the amount you make as an iOS or Android developer is going to vary wildly. Maybe you went to college and absorbed five times your weight in debt, or maybe you taught yourself, learned about 1% of what would get you hired at a start-up, and made a slapdash touch game that sold ten million copies in twelve hours. Yup, that guy is technically a developer, too.
The good news is that no matter which direction you choose, if you know your stuff (and can prove it), then you are in high demand, my friend. That could mean better benefits, incredible amenities, and crazy stock options if you code your cards right.