And to be honest, this is starting to make me grumpy.
First off? Yes, I get that there are people who are not willing to pay someone to DM. That's fine. If you feel that way, then clearly you aren't the target market for the service being sold. That doesn't instantly make them bad, or evil money-grubbing so-and-sos, just because you aren't willing to pay them what they think their DMing services are worth.
I contend, though, that you projecting your value assessment onto theirs is just plain rude. Sure, there are lot of folks out there who DM for the love of it, who are willing to shell out for the paraphernalia [oo, good word] of the art of the DM just for the love of it, and because entertaining their players is reward enough. I happen to fall into that category, with the additional caveat that I personally don't rate myself highly enough to want to charge, and I don't enjoy DMing complete strangers. And yes, that's entirely possibly good old imposter syndrome and social anxiety talking.
But...
I have paid someone to DM, and enjoyed it and felt it was money well spent (cheaper than a night down the pub at current prices, for sure!). I learned quite a bit from it, too.
If you're good enough, and you can find willing players, then the sole judges of whether your DMing services are worth the money are the people paying for the game, not some self-appointed gatekeeping purist on the internet who thinks D&D should be free. (Because, let's face it, unless you as a DM are pirating your rulebooks, writing all your own scenarios, using a free VTT and video client if you're online, and making all your own figures and scenery if you're not? it sure as hell isn't.) And if you're overcharging for what you're delivering, you'll be the first to find out.
I very much doubt anyone's yet made legal minimum wage as a for hire DM, either.
