background: ive been flying for about three years, have my part 107, mostly done stuff for friends and the occasional small local business, nothing major. lately ive been getting more inquiries and someone offered me a decent contract doing regular aerial surveys for a civil engineering firm and it got me thinking seriously about whether this could be a full time thing.

im not naive about it, i know the market is crowded and gear costs money and insurance isnt cheap. what i cant really find good info on is what the actual day to day looks like for people who do this professionally. like how much time is flying vs how much is editing, client communication, dealing with waivers or authorizations, maintaining equipment. i feel like the flying part is the small part honestly but i dont know. also curious what people charge for survey work vs like cinematic real estate stuff if thats not too personal a question, i know rates vary a lot by region

honestly the flying is maybe 20% of my time on a good week, probably less. the rest is a mix of editing, dealing with clients, doing LAANC authorizations or the occasional part 107 waiver application which takes forever, sending invoices, following up on invoices because people dont pay on time, and maintaining the fleet. i have two Mavic 3s and a Matrice and keeping track of component hours and firmware and all that is a whole thing on its own.

survey work pays better than real estate in my area but the deliverables are more demanding, you need to actually know what youre doing with the photogrammetry software. i use DroneDeploy mostly but ive been messing with Metashape for more detailed stuff. rates really do vary wildly but for a civil engineering survey i usually dont go under 800 for a half day and thats probably on the lower end for my market. the contract you mentioned sounds like a great foot in the door, steady work from one client is worth a lot more than chasing random gigs.

the insurance thing is real, dont underestimate it. i was quoted all over the place before i found a policy i was happy with. also look into whether that engineering firm wants you to carry any specific liability limits because some commercial clients require 2 million which changes your premium a bit. not trying to discourage you just stuff i wish someone had told me earlier so i wasnt surprised when i actually sat down and did the numbers on what it costs to operate before you make a single dollar