Will Drones Take Away Jobs? Get the Facts

We have often heard that automation will one day replace human jobs. Drones are popular, but how will drones affect jobs? Anyone can own a drone these days. We can see that drones today are advancing in every area such as planting trees, aiding emergency personnel, doing search-and-rescue and much more. This tell us that drones will not take away jobs, but they will likely transform jobs.

This is why drones will transform our jobs, instead of replacing jobs. Even drones have their limitations, so it is hard to expect to replace jobs completely.

But, some jobs could affect human workers such as; Delivery, where drones could potentially replace delivery drivers across the board. What drones can offer now is much cheaper, much efficient and faster way to deliver packages. Transportation vehicles, where pilots could be replaced by drones in the near future.

Construction is also one of potential jobs that could affect humans. Tall buildings and hard to access, and drones could easly reach those places. When you look today on the market, drones are already being used for jobs such as painting, but they surely need more room for improvement to replace humans.

It is said that drones could replace $127 billion worth of human labor and services across several industries.

Tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Apple will surely use this technology in the near future to deliver packages, while for other big companies, drones will improve security, better monitoring of objects, shoot Hollywood movies, and much much more, allow telecommunication firms to easily check on their towers,

and give mining companies a new way to plan their digs. But this is just a part of what is waiting for us, because we are just entering the age of drones. It takes a few more things to improve to experience the bug boom in the drone industry.

You can see the results in the attached picture on the right. If you are interested in how the drone industry has evolved throughout history, I highly recommend this book: Drones and the Future of Armed Conflict which you can find on Amazon.

Table of Contents

Drone Pilot Jobs

You wondered what kind of career would it be in UAVs? If you’re a recently qualified drone pilot, or if you have ambitions to become one, or if you’re just interested in UAV related careers you have a lot of opertinutie.

We are now at a Drone Age, and hardly a week goes by without some announcement of new developments in UAV technology. Just as the qualification of workers is required in every industry and profession, so is it necessary here.

People who decide to become drone pilots should receive training and get a license for it. This is an industry that is developing exponentially, and the use of drones is possible for all purposes.

There is the obvious task of aerial photography and cinematography, and there’s also mapping, modeling, inspections, and thermal imagery to name a few.

Drone Related Careers

Everything related to a career in the drone industry can be reduced to construction, design, supervision, customise and more. Engineers might specialise in the airframes, working with new materials that provide extra strenght & improved aerodynamics, along with 3D printing.

While we’re on the subject of engineers it’s worth also mentioning the crossover between unmanned and manned aviation. Who will design the most successful unmanned aircraft capable of carrying passengers?

Will it be engineers who have been in the drone industry from the beginning or will aerospace engineers be included in the story also.

Those who are currently most working on developing this industry are software engineers. They work to troubleshoot current UAVs and push the boundaries of their capabilities. There are manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers who keep the industry supplied with hardware and spares.

There are training companies who, with the approval of their national aviation authority, train pilots to fly remotely piloted aircraft to a minimum standard of competence. If you want to make a career in the drone world, this is also one of the books I recommend: Careers in Drone Technology.

How To Make Money With Drones?

This new branch of technology is the goal for many people who are creative and want to start a business because the potentials for this industry are almost infinite.

This rich technology has encouraged a growing army of enthusiasts to buy both ready-to-fly quadcopters and multirotor kits which are then assembled and tested. First thing you need to know is that you have to have an FAA part 107 license in order to make any money with your drone.

Real Estate

It’s probably the most popular amongst everybody because it’s so easy to get into by talking to some Realtors, in fact maybe you are realtor and you just bought a drone and you’re going to use that to help your business.

Most of the time you’re going to take a handful of aerial pictures, basically hand them all on a drive and get paid. It takes about 5-10 minutes of flight time. The nice thing is if you have a DSLR you can also do interior pictures of the property and make a little bit more by doing those.

Sometimes you’ll just give them the footage and sometimes, they may want you to edit it. So if you have editing skills, it’s really in your best interest to use those skills to make a little bit extra money with editing.

Weddings

Couples are starting to get interested in having some extra footage in their wedding videos and their wedding pictures that are from a drone. Some couples have never even thought about it, and maybe the suggestion is all they need.

Usually, you’re going to take video the day before the wedding because a lot of people don’t want drones flying over during the ceremony, and most of the footage you use is going to be used to add to the current video that they use with land-based cameras. There is a lot of potential around Weddings. Try not to miss this opportunity

Inspecions

Inspections are a little bit harder to get into. Number one, you really should have a good clear camera in order to do this, even though it’s not necessary but you should probably have it. A lot of commercial inspections, if you’re doing commercial properties, you’re going to want to go out there and get this done.

You have to be pretty decent at flying because you might have to get close to building. It is closer than you normally do and get anything that might look like cracks, water leaks or something that doesn’t look good. This can take anywhere from 10-15 min or it could actually take several hours, so you’re going to need a lot of extra batteries.

Industrial Inspections

It’s going to be very hard to get into, in fact you probably need to know someone to get you in. You’re going to need a specialized drone. Probably something in the aspect of the DJI M200 or 210.

You’re going to need a good clear camera, you’re going to have to be a good pilot because sometimes you got to get into some tight spaces or fly in inclement weather. The best thing about Industrial inspections is that, it is really good work and really good pay if you can get into it. Nothing will cost you to try.

Drone Pilot Salaries

Salaries for drone pilots are like any other profession, so it depends on your experience, the quality and the type of work you do. So if you just recently got your drone certification and applied for a job, they probably won’t offer you the same amount of money as someone who has been in this business for years.

On the other hand, ex-military UAV operators with years of experience operating large and medium-sized UAV might earn three times (3x) that amount. As with many industries, the high earners are those who are specialists with rare skills and who provide high productivity and flexibility.

This would mean for drone pilots that they are able to operate at any time during the day with the appropriate technical skills they possess, including on weekends if some inclement weather occurs.

But keep in mind that drone engineers working on developing this industry can make a lot more money than classic pilots, which is logical. Salaries over $100,000 USD have been quoted but I’ve been unable to verify them. Just like the IT industry, salaries within the drone industry are hard to pin down as there are many variables.

Aside from the candidate’s skills and experience, there is the size and profitability of the company itself. If it becomes a success, then this could be worth far more than a higher starting salary with no share options.