It really depends on your definition of reasonable profits. $1000 is not very much to start with, but you can still have fun and make a little extra every month.
Yeah - but a person who is getting into it has to understand that mining is generally not a "get rich quick" type of thing, anyway; it's really a long term play. There are risks associated with it as well as possible HUGE rewards. Just go look at the discussion people were having several years ago debating whether mining was even worth it, and then think about how the people that were mining then are doing now.