ok so this kind of came out of nowhere. a regional surveying and mapping company reached out to me — apparently one of my LinkedIn posts got some traction — and they want to bring me on as a full time staff pilot. mostly PPK mapping work, some corridor surveys, occasional LiDAR stuff with their Zenmuse L2 setup which i've honestly never flown but i know the basics of the workflow.

they offered 58k to start with benefits. im currently freelancing and making somewhere between 45 and 70k depending on the year which i know is all over the place. the stability is obviously appealing but im second guessing myself because i feel like once you go staff you kind of lose the ability to build your own thing. also not sure if 58k for someone with my certs (107, also have my thermography cert) is even a fair number for this type of work. anyone been in a similar spot or know what this kind of role typically pays

58k for a staff mapping role with benefits is honestly not bad depending on your cost of living and what the benefits package looks like. if they're covering health insurance fully that's easily worth another 8-10k when you factor it into real compensation. the LiDAR experience alone is worth taking seriously — getting hands on time with an L2 setup doing real deliverables is the kind of thing that makes you significantly more hireable or lets you charge more if you do go back to freelancing later. i'd negotiate though, even just asking for 62 or 63k shows you know your value and most companies expect it.

the stability vs freedom thing is real and only you can weigh that. but i'll say from experience that the 45-70k freelance range with the variance you're describing is stressful in a way that sneaks up on you. some people thrive on it and some people burn out. also surveying and mapping is a good corner of the industry to have experience in, its not going anywhere and it tends to pay better than real estate photography long term. thermography cert on top of that is a nice combo if they ever need roof or electrical inspection work.