If you're after lots of money, I'd recommend a career in finance or prostitution. Given the amount of money you'll spend just to qualify as a pilot, it will be a long time before you see any kind of profit.
Time to command varies enormously. At my airline (large regional carrier) there are genuine command prospects within 3 years. For legacy carriers with long histories and large pension schemes (such as British Airways) it could be more like 10 years.