How To Enter The Drone Workforce in 2022

SC Drone initiative

 

How To Enter The Drone Workforce in 2022

The drone market is exploding with opportunity. The drone services market is expected to grow from $4.4 billion in 2018 to $63.6 billion by 2025. We have outlined ways that people are breaking into the untapped drone market.

Governments around the world are investing in drone technologies to further expand their capabilities, enable research and develop robust drone technology. In North America alone regional valuation may exceed $15 billion. Here are a few trends that may increase the market share during the 2021-2027 timeline.

Gearing South Carolina Towards A Drone Service Economy

Drones are the future, and a dramatic shift in the economy demonstrates the essential role that drones are starting to become in our everyday lives. Before we deep dive into how to break into the drone industry, let’s take a look at the industries that benefit from drones. Before you decide to leap into the drone industry, your very first step will be to enroll into a FAA Part 107 training course and become certified to fly drones for commercial use.

Drones are not just for high-tech military operations, food delivery, or remote-controlled toys for kids. Drones empower small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to create unique service-driven business ventures. If you have an interest, know how to pilot, or are willing to learn how to safely operate a drone for commercial use, then keep reading and you are going to view some fascinating untapped opportunities in the drone service market.

The drone market is exploding with opportunity. The service market is expected to grow from $4.4 billion in 2018 to $63.6 billion by 2025. There is a broad range of the types of industries and businesses that are benefiting from drones. Just to name a few, you have:

  • Public Service
  • First Responders
  • Law Enforcement
  • Real estate
  • Agriculture
  • Construction
  • Farming
  • Hemp Farming
  • Inspections
  • Filmmaking
  • Photography
  • Mapping & Surveying
  • Drone Repair Service
  • Small Business Delivery

Nevertheless, this goes without saying that there is huge demand and opportunity for innovation regardless of what industry you are in. Despite the relevancy of drones and how businesses can benefit from drone technology, there is still a gap in skills and resources. Many industries simply do not have the talent or the ability to integrate drone technology into their current operations. Which is why companies are outsourcing the work to those with expertise, skills,and equipment to accommodate their needs. The drone industry is expected to reach $63.6 billion by 2025. Why not be a part of the drone service economy?

Despite the highly regulated nature of the commercial drone industry, there are career pathways that are readily available for you to seamlessly break into. In doing so, you will need the high quality and specialized Part 107 Drone Training, your commercial drone certification, and FAA aircraft registration.

 

    Real Estate Photography

    The real estate market thrives on high quality photography that captures the essence of a home or commercial property’s most attractive features. Even though there is a market for professional real estate photography, the missing component is that most do not offer aerial views. Which leads to an even playing field when it comes to being competitive in a pre-existing market within the photography industry. Drones in real estate offer a significant increase in the enhancement of a property’s marketability. 

     

    You can start your own business that offers beautiful high resolution photos that showcase multiple angles, videos. In addition you can offer more services such as photo or video editing as well. There are certain aspects that separate the best drone-powered real estate photography professionals apart from the amateurs. Which is why it’s best to obtain quality training from the leaders in the drone education industry, that will help you navigate through your chosen area of expertise. 

     

    Home Inspections

    The home inspection business powered by drones can be a highly profitable venture. Considering that the national average cost of roof inspections assisted by drones can range anywhere between $150-$400. One of the advantages of drone assisted home inspections is that they are a much faster alternative in comparison to traditional home inspections. Integrating drones into your existing home inspection operation allows you to provide aerial views of difficult-to-see access to exterior spaces such as roofs, HVAC systems, chimneys, and even gutters without compromising your safety or damaging the property. As a commercial drone home inspector you will not only need your FAA Part 107 certification, but you will also need to adhere to standards of practice, code of ethics, and safety guidelines.

    If you are not a home inspector, there is no barrier to entry. However, in some cases home inspection businesses will even utilize online platforms to find UAV professionals in their area to assist with inspection projects for better safety and efficiency.

     

     

    Drone rentals

    If you already own a drone, then owning a drone rental is the perfect opportunity to start a business in the drone service economy. Given that drones are a hefty investment, you can essentially provide the experience of allowing other businesses who are looking towards drone integration to allow them to test out before they buy. With a drone rental business, you can rent out drones for upcoming events or major projects. If you are interested in the drone rental business model, consider checking out online peer-to-peer marketplace for those looking to rent or sell professional drones services.

     

     

     

    Construction

    In the most recent years drones have steadily become one of the most fascinating trends in constructions. However, statistics have proven that drones are here to stay. The industry has experienced 239% growth in drone use year after year. Drones have revolutionized the construction industry and are seamlessly integrated into the scope and project life cycle. Construction projects assisted by drones provide photos, video, remote monitoring, real-time building progress and updates. Drones are the future of complex construction projects.
    As the industry grows you can expect to see a demand in the following areas:

    • Topographic Mapping and Land Surveys
    • Equipment Tracking
    • Remote Monitoring and Progress Reports
    • Security Surveillance
    • Personnel Safety
    • Structure Inspection and Photography

    Agricultural and Farming

    Agricultural drone technology has been improving in the last few years, and the benefits of drones in agriculture are becoming more apparent to farmers. Drone applications in agriculture range from mapping and surveying to crop dusting and spraying.
    On the surface, agricultural drones are no different than other types of drones. The application of the UAV simply changes to fit the needs of the farmer. There are, however, several drones specifically made for agricultural use (more on that in a later section).

    Precision Farming

    Precision agriculture, also called precision farming, refers to the way farmers manage crops to ensure efficiency of inputs such as water and fertilizer, and to maximize productivity, quality, and yield. The term also involves minimizing pests, unwanted flooding, and disease. Drones allow farmers to constantly monitor crop and livestock conditions by air to quickly find problems that would not become apparent in ground-level spot checks. For example, a farmer might find through time-lapse drone photography that part of his or her crop is not being properly irrigated.

    Drones In Hemp Farming

    Hemp farmers can fly drones throughout the hemp growing cycle, which lasts from roughly June to October. At any time in the growing cycle, farmers can use drone imagery and Precision Analytics Agriculture to measure the size of the hemp plant’s canopy. This will highlight which varieties are thriving in the given farm’s environment and others that might be underperforming. During the flowering stage, farmers can use Precision Analytics Agriculture to look for signs of maturity and monitor plant size and vigor to plan a response to the potential for pollination.Farmers can collect RBG and multispectral hemp crop imagery to measure plant health.

    Drones Are The Future

    If you are looking to break into an untapped market in the drone industry, then you will not want to miss your chance to take part in the South Carolina Drone Initiative. The South Carolina Drone initiative is designed to change the disparities and talent gaps within the commercial drone industry while preparing South Carolina to become a workforce development ecosystem for the industry. The initiative focuses on five core pillars designed to position South Carolina to secure future opportunities associated with the ( Unmanned Aerial Systems) UAS industry. The five pillars include:

    • Farming
    • HBCU
    • Women In Drones
    • Public Service Agencies/ First Responders

    The SC Drone initiative is powered by AINautics. Established in 2016, AINautics has paved the way for a robust UAS training and service ecosystem globally, through creating strategic partnerships with government, business, higher education, k14, and action agencies. AINautics Co-Founder, Christopher Williams, states, “The drone industry is currently untapped. It is continuing to evolve every day. People taking the opportunity to gain experience and exposure now will have the opportunity to pioneer the industry.”