Narconomics[1] has a pretty good discussion of the economics (including recruiting) of cartels.
[1]: https://www.amazon.com/Narconomics-How-Run-Drug-Cartel/dp/16...
It's no way to live - and don't even think about having a family/kids after you get involved. You'll die early of the stress.
If you think you're a master 1337 hacker or online drug dealer - just get a job in IT security. It pays better, comes with zero stress.
I beg to differ. All IT jobs have stress, but security by definition stresses you about things that haven't happened yet. If you have zero stress doing IT security, you're doing it wrong. Still immensely better than crime, though.
Spoken like someone who has never done either.
15+ years ago when I was hacking and doing credit card fraud, I could make $1000 cash a day without a lot of effort or time. Because I was careful about protecting myself and didn't work a lot I didn't have much stress. I have far more stress with a full time job.
That said, the drug game would be a lot more stressful.
So even in criminal enterprises, I think you have to move up the distribution chain a ways to see the big $