Criminal defense $$$

Hi, everyone. I'm a few years into a civil practice area working for the bad guys. I hate it. I cried in the shower after work last night and next week I'll go through it again. I went to law school to help people and that's absolutely not where I've landed. I've always been interested in criminal law. I loved criminal law courses in law school, took some upper level elective criminal procedure course and did well, scored highest on those areas of the bar exam and really think I would enjoy it. I also HATE civil procedure omg. Criminal procedure always seemed much more straight forward whereas civil procedure feels like trying to solve a riddle so a forest troll will let me cross the bridge to my paycheck.

I've been perusing the job postings in my area and the pay is *exceedingly* low. Around $70k entry level in both private firms and public defender's offices. Not interested in a prosecutor position. I'm wondering what the long term financial prospects are, specifically for solo practitioners. Do people make money or is the pay generally low even 5,10,15+ years into practice? I really don't see many criminal defense postings seeking anyone with more than a few years worth of experience. I'm assuming people tend to go solo after that point (what I would also want to do)