hi cassidy,
i checked again. i had the wrong person
i did comment on one of your challenges, however, the airbrush one and thought it was quite good. i just looked at the rest of your challenge gallery as well. all in all, you seem to have the skills necessary. and like most of us, there's a thing or two to learn yet, and i'm certainly no exception, so i'm not speaking from any lofty white tower looking down my nose

your work looks good.
i think you could do it right now. dont ever wait till you're the absolute tops in the field. just jump in and give it a go. the market will answer your question for you more than i ever could. and trust me, 'mom and pop' have a lot less discerning eye than the folks here...for the most part, and will love to see their images cleaned up a bit. i did about 150 'clean ups' on some family reunion pictures and i was mediocre at best, but my folks loved them! now, they werent paying customers, but the point is, any cleanup is better than no cleanup.
besides, you've got the entire retouchpro site here to help you out and back you up on those troublesome images
Craig