Most scribes were fairly well off since their abilities were in demand — it’s been estimated that only 1% of ancient Egyptians were literate — but some were far more powerful and wealthy than others, and their duties and level of literacy varied. There is quite a difference between a personal scribe of the vizier, an army scribe, and a local village scribe! Keep in mind that the people we lump together as scribes held a wide variety of positions that partially determined their status and responsibilities — priest, butler/cupbearer, physician/exorcist, construction foreman, treasury official, etc.

For more info, see Ancient Egyptian Scribes: A Cultural Exploration by Niv Allon and Hana Navratilova and the chapter “Scribes” by Alessandro Roccati in The Egyptians edited by Sergio Donadoni.