Drone pilot
Drone pilots remotely operate aircraft used in work like surveying, filmmaking and aerial photography.
Working Hours
39–41
hours per week
Day-to-day tasks
As a commercial drone pilot, you'll:
- plan flight paths
- test flight equipment
- create maps and charts based on flight data
- carry out aerial surveys of land use and features
- take photographs and produce aerial film footage
Skills needed
- knowledge of media production and communication
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- concentration skills
- to be flexible and open to change
- leadership skills
- the ability to use your initiative
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- the ability to monitor your own performance and that of your colleagues
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
How to get into this role
You can get into this job through:
- applying directly
- specialist courses run by private training organisations
Career progression
As your experience grows, you may wish to complete a qualification like the Level 3 Certificate and Level 4 Diploma in the Remote Piloting of Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
Opportunities for skilled drone pilots exist in:
- filmmaking, TV and marketing
- weather forecasting
- mapping land use for farming or archaeological work
- inspecting infrastructure like bridges and tall buildings
- surveying air accident sites as part of investigations
- training people to become drone pilots
If you have engineering qualifications, you could move into drone design and development work.