so ive been flying for about two years now, got my part 107 last spring and been doing small jobs on the side — mostly real estate stuff for a couple local agents and one construction company that has me out every few weeks for progress shots. its been going okay but im starting to wonder if there's actually a path to doing this full time or if im just kidding myself.

my day job pays well enough but i hate it and honestly the days i spend out flying are the only ones where i dont feel like im just going through the motions. the money from drone work right now is maybe like 600-900 a month which obviously isnt enough to live on but it feels like it could grow? maybe?

has anyone here actually made the jump to full time? what did your ramp up look like and how long did it take before you were actually comfortable with the income. also wondering if real estate is even worth focusing on or if i should be trying to push into something with more consistent work like cell tower inspections or that kind of thing.

I made the jump about three years ago and honestly the first year was rough in a way I wasnt prepared for. Real estate is fine for getting started but the work is super inconsistent — agents go quiet in winter, listings dry up, and you're competing with a lot of guys who undercut on price because they're doing it as a side hustle anyway. The construction and infrastructure side is where the more stable money tends to be in my experience.

The guys I know who are doing well full time either got into mapping and surveying with proper software like Site Scan or Pix4D, or they went the inspection route and got additional certifications to back it up. Cell tower work pays decent but getting in the door without contacts in that industry is harder than it sounds. Thermography was another thing I added that opened up some doors with solar farms and roofing companies.

If your current side income is already close to a grand a month after two years of casual effort, that's actually not a bad sign. I'd give yourself a hard target — like get to 2k/month consistently for 3-4 months before you even think about quitting, and ideally have 6 months expenses saved. That's just my opinion but I wish someone had told me that instead of letting me leap before I was ready.

following this thread because im in almost the exact same situation lol. part 107 since january and i keep going back and forth on whether to push harder on the freelance side or just keep it as supplemental income. real estate around here is pretty saturated already which is discouraging