so ive been flying for a larger media production company for about two years now and honestly i like the work but the pay ceiling feels really low and i keep seeing freelancers talking about making way more per day. my part 107 is current, i've got a pretty solid reel from the corporate stuff — mostly real estate and some industrial inspection work — and i've been thinking about making the jump but honestly the inconsistency scares me a bit.

like i know some months would be great and others probably dead quiet. did anyone here make a similar transition and how long did it take before things felt stable? i have maybe 6 months of savings as a runway which feels like enough but maybe not. also not sure if i should go totally solo or try to find a DOP or production company to subcontract through first as kind of a middle ground.

did exactly this about three years ago and the first 4 months were genuinely rough, not gonna lie. the subcontracting route is smart though — i spent probably a year doing that alongside picking up my own clients and it made the income way less terrifying. you're basically getting paid to network while you build the direct client list. the inspection side of your background is actually really sellable right now, theres a ton of demand for that and the day rates tend to be better than creative work in my experience.

six months runway is workable if youre careful. id say the first thing to do before you even quit is just start reaching out to local production companies and see who needs a sub. get a few relationships going before you pull the trigger.

not in the same position yet but following this thread because im trying to get into freelance too. curious what day rates you're seeing for real estate versus inspection work if you dont mind sharing ballpark numbers