The increasing demand for skilled drone pilots is ever-increasing – so if you’re considering a new career venture how about becoming a commercial drone pilot?
Regulations mean that any business wanting to use drones must have a commercial drone pilot operating their UAV at all times. However, many businesses who want to use drones don’t have the time to train their staff, or cannot afford to reallocate employees or take on new staff for the same purpose. This means the market for commercial drone pilots is very, very favourable for those with the skills!
Still not convinced you should train to become a drone pilot? Read on, we dare you.
It’s All About The Money, Honey
A skilled drone pilot can hire out his or her services for a nice chunk of moolah. Remember: businesses are paying for your skills and experience. Your daily rate should take into account the time you’ve taken to train, the experience you’ve built up, and also for your expert advice.
If you choose to specialise in an industry, such as agricultural surveying or as a drone camera operator for films, you’re able to command even more money. Someone with a generic pilot qualification and wide portfolio could command a few hundred dollars a day – but someone with a niche element who can demonstrate skill and experience is looking at a few thousand dollars a day.
Choose Your Clients
When you’ve gained some experience, you’ll have the pick of your clients. Really! Like any freelance business, it gets to a point where – if you have a successful track record – you’ll be turning down work from underpaying clients or projects which simply don’t interest you.
Work on the projects most exciting to you – and in your spare time, you can use your skills to make more money with other avenues. Have you seen drone YouTube channels for example? Think of all the extra revenue you could gain by creating a successful channel that showcases your innovative work and excites your chosen industry. It’s a great way of showing people your passion as well as adding to the bank account.
Holiday When You Want (And Even Get Paid For It)
If you’re a freelance commercial drone pilot, or run your own business, it’s much easier to run your time as you wish. Fancy a three week holiday? Done! Factor it into your schedule and there’s no need to worry about losing income (remember as a freelancer you need to think about saving for holidays, sick days, pensions, insurance etc!).
If you’re REALLY savvy, you could always book your holidays around a project. Get in touch with companies in the area you’d like to spend a vacation and see if they want your services. This is a win-win: you build your portfolio, gain experience, build your network, AND get to claim some of your travel and accommodation expenses. What’s not to like?!
Become An Expert Commercial Drone Pilot Before The Rest
The exponential growth of drone usage across industries worldwide mean that demand for your services is only going to continue. However, it also means that more and more people will be looking at offering similar services to yours in the future, too.
Get ahead by training as a commercial drone pilot now, and you’ll be able to gain experience and become the expert in your field well before others cotton onto the idea. You’ll be the go-to person, able to command higher rates and deliver better quality work, without having to worry about standing out amongst the growing competition.
It’s All In The Training
To become a commercial drone pilot you’ll need to take a certified course. Now, you could take a basic course that gives you the CAA permissions (or that of the relevant aviation authority in your country). OR: you could take a course that gives you everything you need to become a skilled drone pilot, where you can test different platforms to find one that suits your business ideas, and where you also get additional advice on setting up and marketing your drone business.
Funnily enough, that’s what we do on the COPTRZ™ drone pilot training courses.
