a drone career

[Zatara]

so im this new certified drone pilot/nerd in Lebanon (country) whos trying to expand his reach in the drone world and needs to be able to finance his career from his drone.
i own a mavic 2 pro and a 32gb 1060tx i7 laptop ...
what are my options?
im thinking about 3 d mapping what do i need (softwares and gear )
what about any other options ....?
thank you

 

[ZX14-R]

Watch a lot of you Tube videos, ask a lot of questions, get a lot of practice flying ....

 

[vciavarelli]

Been flying now for several years (new to the Mavic 2 Pro) and see these among others as options for you, all of which I have done over the years. I have not done any 3d mapping but imagine you're going to need additional software

Aerial Photography
Real Estate / Boat Videos
Weddings / Engagements / Graduations/ Birthdays / etc.
Power line Inspections
Footage for local news stories
Part of Summer Camp activities (paid and volunteer)

 

[OnTheRopes]

Well first thing is to be realistic, why would anyone employ you to fly a drone? Most large companies will just buy their own drone and train one of their employees. I am not saying 3D mapping is not possible but their is a large investment in equipment and software and skills. I have looked into this myself.
Power line inspections would probably be done by the power company, I mean realistically why would they employ some guy with a Mavic 2 Pro?
Real estate is a possibility but here in the UK most estate agents either pay very poor rates so as to make it not worth doing legally so they do it illegally.
Weddings could be possible especially if you do ground video as well.
Stock photography and video is definitely possible but its quite a saturated market so don't expect to make much money.
Things could be different of course in Lebanon and I am only looking from a UK perspective, I do it commercially but the paid work is mainly promo photos and video for their company that employees me for my main job.
I don't want to be too negative but you do need to be realistic too, drone work is unlikely to give you a full time living.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[KS-6]

Well first thing is to be realistic, why would anyone employ you to fly a drone? Most large companies will just buy their own drone and train one of their employees. I am not saying 3D mapping is not possible but their is a large investment in equipment and software and skills. I have looked into this myself.
Power line inspections would probably be done by the power company, I mean realistically why would they employ some guy with a Mavic 2 Pro?
Real estate is a possibility but here in the UK most estate agents either pay very poor rates so as to make it not worth doing legally so they do it illegally.
Weddings could be possible especially if you do ground video as well.
Stock photography and video is definitely possible but its quite a saturated market so don't expect to make much money.
Things could be different of course in Lebanon and I am only looking from a UK perspective, I do it commercially but the paid work is mainly promo photos and video for their company that employees me for my main job.
I don't want to be too negative but you do need to be realistic too, drone work is unlikely to give you a full time living.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

+1

Very well put. Asking about a drone career is like asking about a wide angle lens career, it's a tool, not a career.

I would do a market evaluation in terms of photography, videography and mapping in your region and then see how you stack up. Do you have some good solid motion reels to show, a great portfolio of professional level still imagery? If not, you are already waaaay behind the curve. Have you worked with clients regarding the other aspects of mapping, have some established contacts? If not then why would they hire you over a pro just because you have some new toys to play with?

Do a self evaluation of your video, photo and or mapping skills and then do a market study and you will have your answer.