How long does it take to get decent at chess?

[Etric]

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STUPID QUESTION FOLLOWS:

How can you earn your rating? I'm a very casual chess player, but I tend to beat everyone I play, including some people who claim they were on chess teams and the like. I see people throw around numbers and I want one too.

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Once you get a rating you'll be depressed by the amount of people who are vastly better than you.