With enough time and patience, and enough coats of mud, I think a reasonably skilled amateur can do a great drywall job, even on a smooth ceiling. But pros are so much faster at it, there comes a point where it's simply not worth the money you'll save. What they can do in an hour might take a beginner 5-6 hours when you consider their equipment, the fewer number of coats they need to get a good finish, and how much less sanding they need to do. And of course there's the very real possibility that the beginner just gets fed up after a while and leaves a pretty shoddy looking ceiling.
So if you want to treat it as a learning experience because it's something you think you'll do more in the future, then what might amount to $5-10 an hour in savings could be worth it. But if not I'd just pay someone. Boarding, taping, and mudding above your head is pretty miserable work.
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