The Drone Industry Offers Viable, Lucrative and Exciting Careers

As more businesses begin using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), aka drones, to perform multiple tasks, the industry is seeing the emergence of more accredited training programs. One of them, New York City-based Drone Cadets, is on a mission to produce a new generation of UAS pilots, software developers and maintenance technicians.

The science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) initiative is run by Tony Reid, a military veteran and former corrections officer at New York’s Rikers Island. For eight years he worked with adolescents there – bright young men looking for an opportunity to break away from what Reid described as “a life cycle of neglect, drugs and crime.”

As Reid found out, a widespread fascination with drones often opens the door to engaging with students.

“We’re turning curiosity into careers,” Reid said.

The drone industry is growing quickly, as more and more sophisticated aircraft take on various tasks across multiple businesses, including aerial photography, cinematography, infrastructure inspection, agriculture, public safety, real estate, surveying, environmental monitoring, delivery logistics – and even light show performances.

“As the FAA opens more airspace and the demand for skilled drone operators increases, [drones represent] a viable, lucrative and exciting career path,” Reid said. “In New York City especially, there’s a surge in drone-related opportunities in photogrammetry, construction and structural inspections.” (Photogrammetry is the technique of approximating three-dimensional structures using two-dimensional images.)

“Companies are increasingly using drones to inspect buildings, survey sites and map out development projects,” said Reid. “Many are now turning to programs like Drone Cadets to train their own staff to become certified drone pilots.”

A Growing Industry Centered Around Drones

“This is a fantastic career opportunity, where one is operating cutting-edge technology to save lives, create efficiencies and ultimately make positive impacts for society,” said Calvin Rieb, who heads the Global Remotely Operated Systems program at the multinational food giant and commodity trader Cargill. The Minnesota-based company has operations in some 70 countries and has roughly 100 drones operating in a dozen countries in North and South America.

“The primary use cases today for Cargill are asset inspections, mapping, surveying and cinematography,” Rieb said, noting that Cargill even uses drones in salt mines.

Rieb – a former U.S. Army pilot of UH-60 helicopters and C-12 twin turboprops – said UAS is a potential option “for any business with a robust asset portfolio wanting to reduce risk.” He sees opportunity in air medical supply transportation, firefighting, aerial agricultural spraying, ocean transportation fleet maintenance and aerial-delivery applications.

“There’s more than just the flying side of it,” Rieb said. Drones require hardware and software engineers with unique skills, and experts to analyze the data drones gather from a multitude of sensors. “Ensuring airworthiness and maintenance is as critical as in traditional piloted aircraft, requiring a new breed of maintenance technicians.”

‘A Complete Pipeline’ for Students

The Drone Cadets program offers:

• Apps that students can download on their phones or tablets
• A “Mini Cadets” initiative for kindergarten through second-grade students
• STEM classes for older grade school students
• Career technical education at the high school level
• Targeted workforce development
• Recurrent training

“We partner with schools, universities, community centers and government agencies,” said Reid. “We work closely with public schools, juvenile centers and community-based organizations to build drone curriculum into classrooms and after-school programs.”

The program has also “developed a complete pipeline that allows students to begin their drone education in elementary or middle school and follow it through high school and beyond,” Reid said. “By partnering directly with schools, we help districts build that pipeline early, so students can grow their skills progressively and make informed decisions about their future.”

By the time a student turns 16 years old, “they can be on actual worksites, participating in live drone missions, understanding project scopes, learning what data needs to be collected and seeing what real drone operations look like,” he said.

Earning an FAA Drone Pilot's License

In collaboration with Josh Olds of USI, the Florida-based Unmanned Safety Institute, Reid prepares students to earn an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate that will authorize them for commercial operation of drones weighing less than 55 pounds.

“Through our collaboration, we’ve incorporated USI’s best practices around developing concept of operations and mission planning into our curriculum,” Reid said. “This has helped us not only prepare students for FAA certification, but also train them for real-world scenarios in public safety, infrastructure inspection and commercial UAS operations.”

Reid credited Olds’ leadership and the USI framework as “instrumental in helping Drone Cadets bridge the gap between education and the workforce.”

Drone Cadets works with New York’s Bronx Community College and Monroe College. The group has also collaborated with the City College of New York on adult drone certification and STEM initiatives. Drone Cadets has new summer offerings with Vaughn College aimed at helping students earn their FAA Part 107 certificates. “These partnerships are key to creating seamless transitions from high school to higher education and workforce pathways,” Reid said.

‘The Drone Bus’ Gives Students Hands-On Experience

The main Drone Cadets office is in Lower Manhattan, “but our signature facility is mobile,” Reid said: the Drone Bus, which he describes as “a tech lab on wheels.” The vehicle is equipped with simulators, drone cages and virtual reality, aka VR, gear.

With hands-on experience as well as their FAA Part 107 certification, Drone Cadets graduates can “enter the workforce, pursue a college degree or join the military,” Reid said, “with real options and a head start on a career in technology and aviation.”

“Drones are applicable to every industry cluster in the marketplace,” said USI’s Olds. “The opportunities are there, but experience matters” – as does fundamental respect for a new breed of operations in the National Airspace System.

Drone Cadets graduates have gone on to become FAA Part 107-certified pilots working in aerial media, construction site mapping, search and rescue operations, and even teaching drone tech to others, Reid said. “Some have launched small businesses in drone photography,” he said, “while others work with municipal agencies or engineering firms.

“To every young person: This industry needs you. Whether you’re into tech, creativity, mechanics or business – there’s a place for you in the drone space,” Reid said.

“Drone Cadets is proof that with the right training and mentorship, you can take off – literally.”

Learn more about unmanned aircraft systems at nbaa.org/uas.