Type of money you can make
- Thread starter Recoveryone
- Start date
adm_geomatics
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2019
- Messages
- 440
- Reaction score
- 247
- Age
- 49
- Location
- Leander, Texas
- Website
- www.admgeomatics.com
Good topic, thanks for sharing. I don't know why this would be taboo, maybe just too much pride which is a whole other topic in of itself. I agree this topic is asked to death and one of the top 3 that I have heard over the last 10 years in the industry.
Q&A
1) Which drone to buy? That's a whole can of worms that takes patience to get someone through and quite honestly the internet just doesn't have it so it keeps coming around.
2) How do I get into 3D mapping? Again a very broad question once you understand the different levels and purposes of those levels. This question is even harder to answer straight away than the first and at times can create a thread filled with mumbo jumbo because people start throwing opinions around rather than helping answer the OP's question. Fragile egos again on the internet. I myself enjoy the patient side of consulting and have done quite well with it over the years. Some might say aren't you consulting yourself out of jobs and I can say Yes, but there is a point in time where some work is just boring, doesn't sit well with the budget or you just straight out don't like working with the client so you train them to do their own work. That's doesn't mean you can't process and deliver data. Keep that in mind when you think of those levels... and
3) How much money can I make? This is probably the most thought about question along with how much I can make, but you have to get through the first two in order to realistically get there. I don't mind sharing this at all because our industry needs some serious standardization and as Dray eluded too there is a lot of diversity in work to be had. Personally, I break it down into the pieces of the workflow and either charge hourly or a lump sum bid. Basically, the same cost to the client at the end of the day, it's just some prefer one or the other. As Dray also mentioned it is about the scale of the economy regionally. I am in Texas and someone in California needs to charge 25-30% more in order to make the same percentages. Where this causes problems is when they want to cross regions and started hitting economies that are much lesser than they are use too. I would say Texas is about in the middle and from working with my Pilot peers we all charge about the same. I prefer to charge itemized lump sum meaning I break out the tasks, give a unit cost and amount. I have been doing this long enough to know where the middle ground is for my region and honestly it puts some onus on me to get the work done. Here's my fee schedule starting at the bottom.
Fee Schedule
1) Pre and post-flight and travel time. Travel time is different than mileage or expenses. It is truly the base value I consider for my time. Pre-flight is exactly that and something that people forget about but the most important step for a successful mission and safety. Google Maps, Streetview and Earth is easily the best resource for the majority of this. I can estimate my drive time, see what's around including obstructions, find airports and restrooms and even do some preliminary flight planning. I charge $100/hr for this.
2) Flight time depends on what the task is. $100/hr for simple photo and video, maybe $75 if all I am doing is shooting and handing off to the client or $125/hr if I video editing is involved. It also depends on the drone used. Is it a smaller drone for media, a mid-sized drone for photogrammetric mapping or a larger drone and Lidar. Smaller mapping is $125/hr for plain Jane orthos and contours, flight to flight stuff for Contractors. Next level is mapping for Surveyors which requires a lot more knowledge, patience of process and higher costs so I charge $175 an hour but will negotiate. Lastly is Lidar and DTM'ing which is $250/hr. Don't forget to negotiate discount on termed contract work! Your client will feel like they are getting a good deal and honestly it usually is a great deal making a little less but also developing relationships and a steadier income.
3) Last is processing and delivering. Being that this is mostly automated, and I can work on many at the same time I only charge $75-100/hr for what would be called Tech time.
4) The real question everyone wants answered is how much I can make. This is completely up to you. How driven are you? Do you want to go full time or part time? Do you want a formal business, or do you want to just freelance occasionally? I have done all these over the years but having a family I chose to have a full-time job and a part-time formal business operated from home. This gives me maximum flexibility and time with my family while supplementing a steady income. It also just so happens that I do the exact same thing at my full-time position as I do in my personal business. I bought the same equipment and actually have some more capable equipment on the Survey side personally as that is just who I am and what I really enjoy. That said I conveniently and easily make about $30K per year between Survey-grade mapping, simple media shoots and consulting. I averaged about $110/hr so right on time and budget and have a little room to expand but am comfortable where I am at. I can kick things up a notch when I "retire". I will be Surveying until I just can't be outside with manual labor anymore and flying until I drop dead.
I hope this helps some noobs make the right decision and if they choose to develop and fun and gratifying career or lead them to a place where they can at least use those skills as I have. Doing what I love. Thanks @Recoveryone for the topic. Let's go!
Q&A
1) Which drone to buy? That's a whole can of worms that takes patience to get someone through and quite honestly the internet just doesn't have it so it keeps coming around.
2) How do I get into 3D mapping? Again a very broad question once you understand the different levels and purposes of those levels. This question is even harder to answer straight away than the first and at times can create a thread filled with mumbo jumbo because people start throwing opinions around rather than helping answer the OP's question. Fragile egos again on the internet. I myself enjoy the patient side of consulting and have done quite well with it over the years. Some might say aren't you consulting yourself out of jobs and I can say Yes, but there is a point in time where some work is just boring, doesn't sit well with the budget or you just straight out don't like working with the client so you train them to do their own work. That's doesn't mean you can't process and deliver data. Keep that in mind when you think of those levels... and
3) How much money can I make? This is probably the most thought about question along with how much I can make, but you have to get through the first two in order to realistically get there. I don't mind sharing this at all because our industry needs some serious standardization and as Dray eluded too there is a lot of diversity in work to be had. Personally, I break it down into the pieces of the workflow and either charge hourly or a lump sum bid. Basically, the same cost to the client at the end of the day, it's just some prefer one or the other. As Dray also mentioned it is about the scale of the economy regionally. I am in Texas and someone in California needs to charge 25-30% more in order to make the same percentages. Where this causes problems is when they want to cross regions and started hitting economies that are much lesser than they are use too. I would say Texas is about in the middle and from working with my Pilot peers we all charge about the same. I prefer to charge itemized lump sum meaning I break out the tasks, give a unit cost and amount. I have been doing this long enough to know where the middle ground is for my region and honestly it puts some onus on me to get the work done. Here's my fee schedule starting at the bottom.
Fee Schedule
1) Pre and post-flight and travel time. Travel time is different than mileage or expenses. It is truly the base value I consider for my time. Pre-flight is exactly that and something that people forget about but the most important step for a successful mission and safety. Google Maps, Streetview and Earth is easily the best resource for the majority of this. I can estimate my drive time, see what's around including obstructions, find airports and restrooms and even do some preliminary flight planning. I charge $100/hr for this.
2) Flight time depends on what the task is. $100/hr for simple photo and video, maybe $75 if all I am doing is shooting and handing off to the client or $125/hr if I video editing is involved. It also depends on the drone used. Is it a smaller drone for media, a mid-sized drone for photogrammetric mapping or a larger drone and Lidar. Smaller mapping is $125/hr for plain Jane orthos and contours, flight to flight stuff for Contractors. Next level is mapping for Surveyors which requires a lot more knowledge, patience of process and higher costs so I charge $175 an hour but will negotiate. Lastly is Lidar and DTM'ing which is $250/hr. Don't forget to negotiate discount on termed contract work! Your client will feel like they are getting a good deal and honestly it usually is a great deal making a little less but also developing relationships and a steadier income.
3) Last is processing and delivering. Being that this is mostly automated, and I can work on many at the same time I only charge $75-100/hr for what would be called Tech time.
4) The real question everyone wants answered is how much I can make. This is completely up to you. How driven are you? Do you want to go full time or part time? Do you want a formal business, or do you want to just freelance occasionally? I have done all these over the years but having a family I chose to have a full-time job and a part-time formal business operated from home. This gives me maximum flexibility and time with my family while supplementing a steady income. It also just so happens that I do the exact same thing at my full-time position as I do in my personal business. I bought the same equipment and actually have some more capable equipment on the Survey side personally as that is just who I am and what I really enjoy. That said I conveniently and easily make about $30K per year between Survey-grade mapping, simple media shoots and consulting. I averaged about $110/hr so right on time and budget and have a little room to expand but am comfortable where I am at. I can kick things up a notch when I "retire". I will be Surveying until I just can't be outside with manual labor anymore and flying until I drop dead.
I hope this helps some noobs make the right decision and if they choose to develop and fun and gratifying career or lead them to a place where they can at least use those skills as I have. Doing what I love. Thanks @Recoveryone for the topic. Let's go!
