The Booming Demand for Commercial Drone
Pilots
Training programs are popping up around the country for a rush of
new jobs.
Tiffany Kelly, January 30, 2017, The Atlantic
Brian Snyder - PC
Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) released its requirements for flying drones that weigh under 55 pounds.
The rules state that the pilot must keep the drone in sight at all times, not
exceed 100 miles per hour, and operate the drone only during daylight hours.
Pilots must also report accidents that result in an injury.
While the list of rules for operating a drone is
long and detailed (read the whole thing here),
the requirements for becoming a drone pilot are relatively simple. You need to
be at least 16 years old. You also need to pass a written test. After that, you
can fly a registered drone. And it’s becoming increasingly possible to find
work that will pay you for this skill.
From their origins in the military, drones are
now appearing in many different industries, including real estate, filmmaking,
and advertising. Companies such as Amazon and Google are testing ways to deliver packages via drone in
the future, although federal rules for commercial drone delivery are not yet in
place, and some cities are moving to restrict drone use. A 2013 report released by a trade group, the Association
for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, projected more than 100,000 new
jobs in unmanned aircraft by 2025. Analysts at PricewaterhouseCoopers predicted
last year that the global market for commercial applications of drone
technology could reach $127 million by 2020.
To match the demand for jobs that require a
person to know how to operate a drone, training programs are popping up at
universities and institutes across the country. The Phoenix-based Unmanned Vehicle
University (UVU) is one school that focuses on training drone
pilots. UVU offers graduate degrees in unmanned systems engineering as well as
hands-on pilot training courses.
Tuition for UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) pilot
certification costs between $3,500 and $4,000, and students don’t need a college
degree or any prior experience with drones. UVU, which is for-profit, teaches
groups from the public sector (military units, police departments, and federal
agencies) and private companies as well as individual students.
CityLab spoke
to Paul Dragos, dean of the School of Flight Training at UVU, about the process
of becoming a drone pilot.
Tiffany Kelly: What got you
interested in drones?
Paul Dragos: First,
it’s a huge, ballooning industry. We’re at a point now where, whether we like
it or not, drones are going to become part of our everyday life, very similar
to automobiles. So I’m excited to get involved in an industry that’s just going
to be a huge part of our society. Second is the aviation part. As an ex-Navy
pilot, I’ve always been attracted to aviation and flying. It was a very good
fit.
Kelly: What’s your
role at the university?
Dragos: I manage
instructors located around the country and they all report to me. Almost all of
our instructors have at least 10 years of experience with radio-controlled
aircraft and drones. I also set up special training sessions for police
departments and military units.
Kelly: You manage the
program to earn a UAV Pilot Certificate. What is the process for that?
Dragos: There’s
three steps. The first step is a set of videos, and it’s close to 16 hours of
online videos. Each segment is about 20 minutes and at the end of that is a
quiz.
The videos will get you familiar with aspects of
drones: for example, airspace limitations, flight, how drones work, weather
conditions, and more. Once you complete that part, you are sent a simulator
that hooks up to your computer. The simulator has a controller that looks
exactly like a drone controller. You go through about 12 hours of tasks. When
you pass that, you meet with an instructor in person. The hands-on training is
typically two days long.
Kelly: Once a person earns
a certificate, do they need to meet other requirements with the FAA?
Dragos: You are
required to have a drone pilot license—that’s called FAA 107. Our university has a couple of courses on how to
prepare for taking the 107 test.
“We have teenagers who play video games,
middle-aged people who are looking for a career change, and people with
aviation experience.”
Kelly: Do you see people
wanting to become a drone pilot as a second career option?
Dragos: It’s all
across the board. We get students of all ages. We have teenagers who play video
games, middle-aged people who are looking for a career change, and people with
aviation experience. Some students have a modest interest, while others have
huge goals with large numbers of drones for an organization.
Kelly: Is there a good job
market out there?
Dragos: Absolutely.
There are huge numbers of jobs out there. The number is just going to grow.
There are literally hundreds of different uses for drones in the industry. The
boundaries are limitless.
Kelly: Do students have
specific requests?
Dragos: It’s very
flexible and very student-focused. That is why we keep it one-on-one. We can
accommodate just about any request from the student. Some students will come in
and say, “I’ve never flown a drone,” or “I’ve flown a drone but I want to learn
new skills.” Other students will say, “I’m applying for a specific job where
I’ll be inspecting cellphone towers. Can you teach me how to do a proper
inspection of a cellphone tower?” We do have that capability. One of my
instructors is a cinematographer and drone pilot in Hollywood. I send any
student who is interested in filmmaking or cinematography to that instructor.
Kelly: Have you seen an
increase in people signing up for drone training?
Dragos: On August
29, the FAA came out with the requirements to operate a drone. We’ve seen an
increase pretty much every month since.
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