The current state of the drone job market

[Echo4Thirty]

I suspect a lot of companies no longer farm out this to outside pilots. I am aware of quite a few businesses that found folks already employed that had an interest in drones (or were already 107) and got them licensed and bought drones for the company.

Its such an easy thing to bring in house and to a business, the cost of a typical DJI drone is peanuts. A few even bought the Minis and dedicated them to train new pilots before they allowed them to fly the "big ones"

 

[Echo4Thirty]

I suspect a lot of companies no longer farm out this to outside pilots. I am aware of quite a few businesses that found folks already employed that had an interest in drones (or were already 107) and got them licensed and bought drones for the company.

Its such an easy thing to bring in house and to a business, the cost of a drone is peanuts to a company. A lot of them also bought minis dedicated to training before the pilots were allowed to operate the "big drone"

2) Build your "inventory" and offer more than "just" Drone services. Drone Only is the fastest way to going out of business especially in the Real Estate market. Most every "photographer" added Drone/UAS to their business card several years ago.

Bingo. I love aviation, but my drones have become just another tool in my photography toolbox. I dont have a drone business, I have a photography business that added drones to my abilities to capture stills/video.

 

[BigAl07]

I suspect a lot of companies no longer farm out this to outside pilots. I am aware of quite a few businesses that found folks already employed that had an interest in drones (or were already 107) and got them licensed and bought drones for the company.

Its such an easy thing to bring in house and to a business, the cost of a drone is peanuts to a company. A lot of them also bought minis dedicated to training before the pilots were allowed to operate the "big drone"


Bingo. I love aviation, but my drones have become just another tool in my photography toolbox. I dont have a drone business, I have a photography business that added drones to my abilities to capture stills/video.

And I'll add this, most of the time (no not all of the time) you're better off being a photographer first and adding Drone to your inventory rather than being Drone Only and trying to upscale to a genuinely photography-centric business. Being an experienced photographer will help you Leaps & Bounds in terms of "general UAS photography".

 

[BetterBizWorks]

Let me ask straight out: are there more drone operators looking for drone operation jobs than there are positions available?

I want to fly mapping missions and do structure inspections. Are those positions even available any more? Cause if those positions no longer exist I’ll save my time and quit looking.

There is plenty of low priced work out there by aggregators that just about pay fro drone maintenance. The lower end for drone services is plentiful, but it seems like many of the corporations are adding employees that are getting their part 107s and flying for the company to do mapping and surveying as part of their existing jobs. I am seeing more and more of it. Insurance companies and solar companies. I am still getting work but I'm hunting for the higher end.

 

[TonyPHX]

Oversaturated. Race to the bottom. Not consistent.

 

[wendystroper]

That's spot on! Bringing drone operations in-house seems like the trend nowadays. It makes sense, especially with the accessibility of licensing and the affordability of drones. Plus, training new pilots with smaller models is a brilliant move. It's all about efficiency and cost-effectiveness for businesses diving into drone tech.