been seeing ads for a couple of these platforms that basically connect drone pilots with clients who need shots — Dronebase, Zeitview, there's a few others. curious if anyone here has actually used them and whether its worth signing up or just kind of a race to the bottom on pricing.

im pretty new to the paid work side of things, got my 107 a few months ago and ive done a couple small jobs for people i know but im trying to figure out the best way to actually find clients that arent just friends doing me a favor. these marketplace things seem like an easy way in but i dont know if the pay is decent or if its just garbage rates.

used Dronebase for a while when i was starting out. pay is not great, like genuinely not great, but the missions are pretty straightforward and it got me comfortable with doing real deliverables for actual clients with actual deadlines. i think of it like the gig economy version of drone work — good for building your portfolio and learning what clients actually expect, not good as a long term income strategy. i stopped taking missions once i had enough direct clients but i dont regret using it early on.

ive heard mixed things about Zeitview specifically, some pilots say the inspection missions are pretty tedious and the feedback if you miss something can be harsh. but also inspections are a growing area so maybe it depends on what you want to specialize in. personally i've just been cold emailing local real estate agencies which feels old fashioned but its been working better than i expected tbh