so ive been flying recreationally for about two years now, mostly fpv stuff and a mavic 3 i picked up last spring, and a few people have mentioned i should just get my part 107 and start taking paid gigs. my buddy does real estate photography and says he pulls in decent side money but i honestly dont know if thats still true or if the market is totally saturated at this point.

like is it even worth the study time to get certified if im just gonna be competing with a hundred other guys doing the same basic listing shots for $150 a pop? i have no idea what niches are actually hiring or paying decently right now. wondering if anyone here has gone through this recently and what the actual landscape looks like, not just the youtube success story version of it.

honestly the real estate thing is pretty crowded depending on where you live, you're right about that. but the work that actually pays is more niche stuff — cell tower inspections, infrastructure, powerline surveys, that kind of thing. the problem is breaking into those industries because they usually want documented flight hours and specific equipment, not just a 107 cert. i did real estate for about a year before i started cold emailing construction companies and that's where things changed for me. slower to get started but the day rates are so much better than listing shots.

get the cert regardless though. its not that much studying and it opens doors even if you dont use it right away.

im kind of in the same boat as you actually, just passed my 107 last month and still figuring out what to do with it lol. i've been lurking on some freelance drone groups on facebook and it seems like the people doing okay are the ones who combined it with something else they already know, like video editing or GIS or something. just flying isnt really enough on its own from what i can tell. still figuring it out tbh