so ive been flying for about 3 years now, got my part 107 last spring and been doing a few gigs here and there on the side while still working my day job. mostly real estate stuff and a couple of construction progress shots for a friend who knows a contractor. the money has been decent but nothing that makes me think i can just quit and do this full time.

curious if anyone here has actually made the leap to doing drone work as their main thing. like is it even realistic or is the market just too saturated now. i feel like every other person has a mavic and a 107 cert at this point and its hard to know how to stand out. my editing isnt bad, i use resolve for most stuff, but im not a professional cinematographer by any means.

anyway would love to hear from people who are actually in it. not looking for the youtube guru version, just real talk about what it's actually like.

honest answer - yeah it's doable but it's way more about sales and networking than flying ability. i made the jump about two years ago and the first six months were rough. the people who struggle arent usually bad pilots, they just hate the business side of it and that's actually 80% of the job.

real estate was my bread and butter early on but the margins are kinda brutal there because everyone undercuts everyone. where i started making real money was getting into insurance inspection work and some infrastructure stuff. that requires a bit more than just a 107 in some cases depending on your state and what the client needs, but the pay is way better and the competition is thinner because it's less glamorous i guess. nobody's posting cool instagram clips of a roof inspection lol.

don't quit the day job right away is the boring advice but seriously give yourself a runway. a year of savings minimum if you can swing it.

im in kind of the same boat as you actually so ill be following this thread. i did one wedding gig and honestly it stressed me out more than it was worth, the pressure of getting the shot with no second chances is a lot. been sticking to real estate for now but yeah the rate compression is real, had someone undercut me by like 40 bucks last month on a listing and the agent just went with them. frustrating.