so ive been flying for about 3 years now, got my part 107 about a year and a half ago and ive been doing some side work here and there - mostly real estate photography for a couple local agents and one small construction company that has me come out like once a month for progress shots. its decent money for a side thing but im starting to wonder if this could actually be a full time thing or if im just romanticizing it.

my main gig pays okay but i genuinely dread going in every day and the drone stuff just feels different, you know? like i actually look forward to it. but i also have a mortgage and a kid so its not like i can just wing it. has anyone here made the actual jump to doing this full time? what did your first year look like, was it mostly feast or famine? and what kind of jobs were you actually picking up consistently because from what i can tell real estate alone probably wont cut it

yeah i made the jump about two years ago and honestly the first 6 months were rough. not gonna sugarcoat it. real estate is seasonal and super competitive depending on where you are, and a lot of agencies already have a guy they use. what actually stabilized things for me was getting into inspection work - cell towers, rooftops, that kind of stuff. pays way better per hour and theres less chasing down clients who wanna haggle over $50. took a while to get those contacts but once you're in with one company they tend to refer you around. i'd say dont quit the day job until you have at least 3-4 recurring clients that arent all in the same sector, because if one dries up you dont want the whole thing to collapse at once

following this thread because im in basically the exact same situation lol. one thing i've been looking into is the mapping and survey side of things, seems like theres more steady demand there but you need more specialized gear and software skills which is kind of a whole other learning curve. also seen some people mention working as a subcontractor for bigger production companies instead of going fully independent - less money per job maybe but more consistent work? idk still figuring it out myself