Annual Salary
£0 to £0
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Drone pilots remotely operate aircraft used in work like surveying, filmmaking and aerial photography.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: freelance / self-employed; as customers demand
There will be
0.5% more Drone pilot jobs in 2027.
As a commercial drone pilot, you'll:
You could work on a film set, on a construction site, in the countryside or in a control room.
Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers and you may spend nights away from home.
You can get into this job through:
You can apply for jobs directly. Most employers will expect you to have a minimum of 40 hours of recorded drone flying experience.
If you are in the armed forces or the police, you may be able to train as an aerial vehicle pilot to operate drones for military or security purposes.
You'll normally need a flyer ID, operator ID and insurance to fly drones for commercial purposes.
To get these, you would complete training with a Recognised Assessment Entity (RAE) approved by the Civil Aviation Authority. Training, including flight skills, can last between 2 and 4 days and covers:
You'll also have to write an operations manual describing how you are going to use your drone commercially.
After successfully completing training, you can apply for operational authorisation for the type of drone you are flying.
You must renew this every 12 months.
You'll need to:
You can get more advice about working and training as a drone pilot from:Civil Aviation Authority; National Air Traffic Services
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.
The demand for drone operators is growing fast. Amazon have drones working in their warehouses and are hoping to launch unmanned deliveries to homes soon. Drone operating skills could be a useful qualification to get in the future as it will be useful in many job sectors from computer games to conservation.
You can get more advice about working and training as a drone pilot from Dronesafe and the Civil Aviation Authority.
You'll need: