kind of a weird situation and not sure how to think about it. been freelancing for about 18 months doing mostly media production stuff, some surveying work with a local engineering firm on a contract basis. got an offer last week from a construction company to come on as basically their in-house drone operator. salary, benefits, the whole thing.

the money is actually pretty comparable to what i make freelancing but obviously freelance has the upside potential if i keep growing. the staff job would be pretty much all photogrammetry and progress documentation, maybe some thermal stuff down the road once they get the kit for it. not the most exciting flying in the world but it's stable and they seem like decent people.

i dunno, part of me feels like taking a staff job is admitting defeat or something but that's probably just ego talking. anyone made this kind of choice either direction and have thoughts on how they weighed it.

Took a staff position two years ago after 3 years freelancing and genuinely have not regretted it once. Health insurance alone was worth it, I was spending a ridiculous amount on that as a self-employed person. The flying is less varied for sure, mostly Matrice stuff for inspection and mapping, but I'm getting really deep into the Pix4D and reality capture workflow side of things which has actually opened up more opportunities not less. If the company is solid and has room to grow the role, that matters more than whether the flights themselves are exciting.

The ego thing is real by the way, I felt it too, but nobody outside your own head is keeping score on freelance vs staff. It's just different paths.

what's the salary range if you dont mind me asking, you can dm if you'd rather not post it. just trying to get a sense of what in-house positions are actually paying these days because i've seen some postings that looked kinda lowball for what they were asking for. like they want part 107, thermography cert, 3 years experience and they're offering what a entry level office job pays, it's a little disrespectful honestly.