[villagetinker]

Sable99, If your new pendant lights are going in the SAME place as the existing ceiling lights, there is a kit (home depot or Lowes) that provides the conversion for hanging pendant lights. I have one somewhere in the house that I have not used yet. In this case you should be able to use a handyman, as the conversion is intended for homeowner installation. If you need to move the existing ceiling lights for the pendant, then I agree with the above comment, hire a certified electrician. You will also need to hire a person to fix the ceiling when the new lights are installed, and possibly someone to fix/fill the insulation is going to be disturbed.

One possible alternative is the track lighting systems that have pendant light options. These would be surface mount, you could leave the existing ceiling lights in place, and if you can find the low voltage version, it becomes a do it yourself project.
Send me a PM and we can talk over the phone.