Worth less than what you pay for it. It's a hobby. If you want to do it professionally, then you either do industry photos, which is like any other contracted "artistic" service where you spend years marketing and developing a reputation only to have all the joy ripped out of it on the off chance you land a regular gig working for a big firm or starting your own. Alternatively, you can be a real artist, and that's a nightmare for your average person. I've known a lot of artists and it's basically being a professional hobo for 95% of your life.
My advice, don't bother with school. Instead, become extremely extroverted and a cool fun hang, and progressively climb the social ladder, latching on to people, whose success you want to emulate, as mentors. Once you've schmoozed enough big shots, you'll get your shot. Art is about who you know, and how present you are. If you're around big players all the time, and talented people are helping you get better, than they'll feel invested in you, and your work will start to carry enough clout where people will pay you.
Going to school can help as it will provide you an opportunity to connect with a bunch of other artists early on, and you can all leech off each other on the come up. You'll also have to attend parties, festivals, gallery shows, stuff you're not even interested in, just for the sake of being "in the scene". Go to a festival, meet a bunch of artist types, ingratiate yourself to them, get invited to their party, or invite them to go out with you to somewhere like "this awsome secret beach I know". Always be taking pictures, do their portraits for free, talk about collaborations, get your hooks in everywhere, then when strangers come to you, start charging money, low ball people on price and say it's only because their friends of so and so, it makes everyone involved feel special, and also creates a feeling of quality and exclusivity with your work.
