Yeah that may be true in most cases, but I think it's possible with much less experience.
This is anecdotal, but I graduated college a couple of months ago and I've been freelancing for the past year and a half in my free time by building things for crypto startups. It's a (little bit) niche, but it's worked out well for me and I'm on track to pay off my student loans from my freelance work while also working full time. I think you just need to go for it. I don't really have much formal experience (3 SWE internships in college), and I've been able to make good hourly rates at $50-100 an hour for my time.
