so ive been doing drone work on the side for about two years now, mostly real estate and some construction progress stuff for a local contractor. i have my part 107 and a pretty solid kit (mavic 3 pro, couple of ND sets, decent editing workflow) and honestly the side income has been pretty consistent but i keep wondering if i could actually pull the trigger and do this full time.

the thing is im not sure if the market is deep enough in my area. im in a mid-sized city, not like a huge metro, and most of the real estate agents i work with are still on the fence about spending money on aerial every single listing. i do probably 6-8 shoots a month right now on top of my regular job and its starting to feel like i could push harder if i had the time.

anyone made the jump to full time freelance? what did your first year actually look like, like the real version not the youtube success story version. also curious if construction/infrastructure is worth getting into more seriously or if thats a completely different certification rabbit hole

real version: first year was rough. i wont sugarcoat it. i had about 4 months of savings runway and i burned through most of it by month 3 because i overestimated how quickly clients would book consistently. real estate carried me but its so seasonal, like january and february i was genuinely stressed. what saved me was landing one ongoing construction contract that paid monthly regardless of weather delays ? that kind of retainer work is honestly the thing to chase if you can get it.

the construction/infrastructure path is worth it but yeah it does open up its own thing. some clients want thermography which means a whole different sensor, some want ground control point workflows for survey-grade accuracy. i ended up getting into the weeds on site documentation which doesnt need any extra certs but does need you to understand what a project manager actually wants to see, which took me a while to figure out. honestly talking to one PM for like an hour taught me more than any course.

if youre at 6-8 shoots a month as a side thing you probably have more traction than you think. just dont quit until youve got at least one retainer client lined up, thats my only real advice.

following this thread because im kind of in the same boat, little earlier stage though. do you find platforms like Dronebase or Zeitview actually worth signing up for or is it mostly low paying filler work? ive heard mixed things