so ive been flying for about 3 years now, got my part 107 last year and ive been picking up small gigs on the side while keeping my day job. mostly real estate stuff and a few construction progress shoots. nothing crazy but its been pretty consistent and im starting to wonder if going full time is actually realistic or if im just being naive about it.

the thing is my day job isnt bad but its just not something i want to do forever and every time i get out and fly for a client it feels like how work is supposed to feel, you know? but i also have a mortgage and a kid so its not like i can just wing it and hope for the best.

curious if anyone here has made that transition or knows people who have. like what did your pipeline actually look like before you felt comfortable going all in? did you hustle for a long time first or did it kind of snowball at some point

I made the jump about two years ago and honestly the thing nobody tells you is that the flying is like maybe 30% of the job. The rest is emails, invoices, editing, chasing clients who dont pay on time, marketing yourself ? all the stuff that has nothing to do with actually being in the field. That part caught me off guard more than anything.

That said I dont regret it at all. What I'd say is dont quit until you have at least 6 months of your current salary saved AND you have recurring clients not just one-off jobs. The real estate market can dry up fast depending on where you live and if you only have 3 or 4 agents feeding you work you're one slow quarter away from a bad situation. I spent a solid year and a half building up before I felt okay walking away from my office job. The snowball thing you mentioned is real though ? once you get a few solid clients and they start referring you it does start to compound.

not full time yet but been watching this thread because im in basically the same spot lol. one thing ive noticed is the guys who seem to do well long term are the ones who dont just do one type of work ? like they do real estate but also weddings or inspections or something. kind of spreading it out so if one slows down youre not totally dead in the water