been flying for about three years, got my 107 last spring, done some paid gigs here and there for a friend who does construction stuff and a couple small event things. i genuinely love it and i keep thinking like... could this actually be a job? not just weekend side hustle but actual living wage type thing.

the problem is i dont really know what the realistic path looks like. do people usually specialize in something like mapping or inspections or is it better to stay generalist at first. i have a mavic 3 and a mini 4 pro and i live in the southeast US if that matters. i know some markets are more saturated than others but i dont have a great feel for where things actually stand right now. anyone made the leap to full time and willing to share how it actually went

honestly the generalist vs specialist question is something i went back and forth on for a long time. what i eventually figured out is that generalist gets you work faster early on but specialist is where the real money is once you have a foothold. inspection work especially ? utilities, cell towers, roofing ? pays way better than photo/video stuff per hour and theres less creative competition. you do need additional certs sometimes depending on the client but its worth looking into if you want to go full time.

i made the jump about 18 months ago after building up about 6 months of savings as a cushion and lining up two semi-regular clients before i quit my day job. that cushion was the only reason it didnt completely stress me out. the first few months were slow and i would have panicked without it. now its fine, not luxurious but fine.

following this thread because im kind of in the same boat. curious what the insurance situation looks like for people doing this full time ? ive been putting off figuring that out and i feel like it's probably more complicated than i think