so ive been flying for about two years now, got my part 107 last spring and ive done a few small jobs here and there for friends and a local real estate agency but nothing consistent. my day job is fine but honestly i spend more time thinking about drone stuff than actual work lol

im wondering if anyone has actually made the jump to doing this full time or even just as a serious side income. like is real estate photography the main bread and butter or are there other areas worth getting into. ive seen people talk about inspections and mapping but that seems like it needs a lot more specialized gear and software knowledge than i have right now

not looking to get rich just want to know if its realistic to replace maybe half my income doing aerial work. any honest takes appreciated because most stuff i find online sounds like its written by someone trying to sell a course

honest answer - it depends a lot on where you live and how much hustle you're willing to put in. i've been doing this about four years, started with real estate and weddings and slowly added construction progress shoots and some insurance inspection work. real estate alone wont cut it in most markets unless you're doing volume, like 3-5 shoots a week minimum and even then the rates have gotten pretty compressed in a lot of areas because everyones got a mavic now.

the inspection side is worth looking into seriously though. roof inspections especially, you dont need crazy specialized gear to start, just good footage and the ability to document what you see clearly. i linked up with a couple local roofing contractors and that turned into pretty steady work after a few months. mapping and surveying is where the real money is but yeah that learning curve is steep and the software licensing costs add up fast.

if youre already part 107 and have two years of flying under you, youre ahead of a lot of people who try to jump into this. just manage your expectations for the first year, it takes time to build a client base that pays reliably

im kind of in the same boat as you actually so following this thread. did you find that the part 107 opened doors at all or do clients mostly not even know what it is? i got mine a few months ago and when i mentioned it to a potential client they just kind of nodded like i said nothing lol