yeah this has been on my mind for a while. so i started looking at actual drone operator positions, not freelance stuff but like actual W2 jobs where a company hires you as a staff pilot or something. found a few listings on indeed and linkedin, some are for survey companies doing mapping work, one was for a utility inspection contractor, and there was a weird vague one that just said "UAV operator" for some kind of ag tech startup.

the pay ranges are all over the place. one was posting $45k-$55k which seems really low if you have to move for it, another was $75k-$90k but required specific experience with Matrice series birds and processing software like Pix4D which i dont really have.

has anyone actually worked for one of these types of companies? im wondering if they're worth pursuing or if freelance ends up being better long term. the stability of a real job sounds appealing but i also dont want to be doing boring grid flights in cornfields forever if thats what the ag stuff turns into

i worked for a utility inspection company for about 14 months and honestly it was a mixed bag. steady paycheck was great, full benefits which you really cant get freelancing unless you're doing something through a spouse's plan or whatever. but the work itself got repetitive fast. a lot of transmission line flying, some substation stuff, and you're basically just executing a flight plan someone else designed. not a ton of creative input.

the Pix4D and photogrammetry stuff is worth learning on your own time if you want to break into mapping roles, there are some decent youtube tutorials and the software has a trial. that kind of skill set opens more doors than just knowing how to fly well. flying well is kind of table stakes at this point for anyone applying to real positions.

the ag tech startup ones are hit or miss in my experience. friend of mine took one and the company folded like 10 months in. if its a startup id look really hard at how funded they are and how long theyve been operating before uprooting your life for it. the established survey and geomatic companies tend to be more stable even if the pay ceiling is lower