been seeing more job postings lately for drone pilots doing powerline inspection, cell tower documentation, pipeline surveys and stuff like that and it seems like it pays significantly better than the real estate and event stuff most people talk about. some of these listings are asking for thermal imaging experience which i dont have yet but im curious how people actually break into that side of the industry.

like do you need to already be working in utilities or engineering to get these gigs or can you come in purely as a drone operator and learn the rest. i have my 107 and about 400 hours logged but all of it is photography and video work, nothing industrial. just trying to figure out if its realistic to pivot or if these companies really want someone who already knows the technical side of what theyre inspecting

the thermal cert thing comes up a lot - a lot of companies want at least a level 1 thermography certification which you can get, its not crazy expensive or anything but it takes some time. i picked one up through a course and it definitely opened doors.

as far as getting in without an engineering background, it depends. some companies especially smaller drone service providers will train you if you're a solid pilot, they just want someone who can fly reliably in tough conditions and document everything properly. the bigger utility companies tend to want more of a full package. i got my first infrastructure gig through a drone services company that had a contract with a utility, so i wasnt dealing with the utility directly at first which made it easier to get a foot in the door. linkedin honestly helped more than i expected for finding those service companies

yeah the pay difference is pretty real, i had a buddy doing cell tower documentation work and he was clearing nearly double what i make doing video. thing is he said the actual flying is sometimes less interesting lol - a lot of hovering and holding position while someone else reviews the footage on a tablet. but if you want steady work and dont mind the repetition it sounds pretty solid. i keep meaning to look into it more seriously but havent pulled the trigger on the thermal training yet