How much can you actually make in VC

This is a really difficult question to answer, as VC is a volatile career with a huge range of earnings. It's literally anything from 0 to billions, depending on how good you are, how long you stay in it, how lucky you are, etc. Salaries can be very high & cushy at the big multi-stage funds, given they charge 2% of active AUM in annual management fees, across multiple funds at once. And of course, carry can be huge if the funds perform. But, a lot of VCs, I would dare say most who start out, end up washing out because it's so hard to continually invest in winners, across cycles. If you're a really good investor, you should make a lot over time. But it can take a while.