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It's relatively low skill to be a drone pilot; No certifications, no education requirements, no professional organization with yearly fees, etc. You literally j

by jbob2000 8y ago

It's relatively low skill to be a drone pilot; No certifications, no education requirements, no professional organization with yearly fees, etc. You literally just need to buy a drone, get a bit of practice, and start advertising your services. If the current drone pilots want to keep the high salaries, they should add more barriers to entry. This would keep out the hobbyists from picking up side jobs and eroding the market and will also raise the cost of entry, aside from the hardware purchase.

bassman9000 8y ago
add barriers Or, instead of the noncompetitive approach, they should differentiate themselves from the competition, and offer added value the hobbysts can't.
- emodendroket 8y ago
  Such as?
  - bassman9000 8y ago
    If I knew I'd be flying drones.
gadders 8y ago
In the UK, you need to get "permission" to fly a drone commercially: http://www.caa.co.uk/Commercial-industry/Aircraft/Unmanned-aircraft/Small-drones/Permissions-and-exemptions-for-commercial-work-involving-small-drones/ http://www.caa.co.uk/Commercial-industry/Aircraft/Unmanned-a...
Spooky23 8y ago
Not really true. You need an FAA certificate. Most drone pilots aren't acting within the law. Bad news for them in a commercial situation is that mishaps will be a personal liability issue.
danaliv 8y ago
For commercial drone ops you need to be certified by the FAA. It’s a quick multiple choice test, so not exactly onerous, but you can’t just buy a drone and start flying for money.
imglorp 8y ago
Not true in the US. The FAA wants to make sure you interact safely with the manned airspace system, as a user of the system. So they require various certs depending on weight of the UAS and what you want to do with it. https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/part_107/ https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/part_107/
brudgers 8y ago
In the US, commercial drone operation requires an FAA license. By "requires" I mean legally requires. Hobby and Recreational use falls under Section 336. Commercial uses fall under Part 107. https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/ https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/ Section 107 compliance doesn't add much to the cost of operation and so anyone who really wants drone footage and already has people on location (for example a construction company), can just buy a drone, get an employee licensed and shoot their own footage. The risks are less because insurance is simplified, the schedule more flexible, and nobody has to waste time soliciting bids, negotiating terms, and processing invoices.

bassman9000 8y ago

add barriers Or, instead of the noncompetitive approach, they should differentiate themselves from the competition, and offer added value the hobbysts can't.

emodendroket 8y ago
Such as?
- bassman9000 8y ago
  If I knew I'd be flying drones.

gadders 8y ago

In the UK, you need to get "permission" to fly a drone commercially: http://www.caa.co.uk/Commercial-industry/Aircraft/Unmanned-aircraft/Small-drones/Permissions-and-exemptions-for-commercial-work-involving-small-drones/ http://www.caa.co.uk/Commercial-industry/Aircraft/Unmanned-a...

Spooky23 8y ago

Not really true. You need an FAA certificate. Most drone pilots aren't acting within the law. Bad news for them in a commercial situation is that mishaps will be a personal liability issue.

danaliv 8y ago

For commercial drone ops you need to be certified by the FAA. It’s a quick multiple choice test, so not exactly onerous, but you can’t just buy a drone and start flying for money.

imglorp 8y ago

Not true in the US. The FAA wants to make sure you interact safely with the manned airspace system, as a user of the system. So they require various certs depending on weight of the UAS and what you want to do with it. https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/part_107/ https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/part_107/

brudgers 8y ago

In the US, commercial drone operation requires an FAA license. By "requires" I mean legally requires. Hobby and Recreational use falls under Section 336. Commercial uses fall under Part 107. https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/ https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/ Section 107 compliance doesn't add much to the cost of operation and so anyone who really wants drone footage and already has people on location (for example a construction company), can just buy a drone, get an employee licensed and shoot their own footage. The risks are less because insurance is simplified, the schedule more flexible, and nobody has to waste time soliciting bids, negotiating terms, and processing invoices.