Do graphic design jobs pay well?

No, unless you want to live life worrying what your next brief will entail and wondering about the justification behind your work

To make a good living and get hired from the top companies you must be the "best of the best". Being at the right place at the right time and good connections will get you better jobs. You must have a lot of talent, skill and problem solving experience. If you become one of the hot top designers and develop a good reputation, you can expect a lot of work for many years, but as you and your career enter middle age, companies/clients will prefer to hire cheaper younger talent due to lower wages and less benefits.

This career can be very stressful due to deadlines (long hours at times), picky clients, disloyal clients, fierce competition, keeping up with the latest trends/software along with layoffs due to recessions, broken promises from clueless employers and co-workers.