0:01 So, you've got your Part 107 to fly
0:04 drones commercially, and now you can get
0:06 paid to fly. Today, we're diving into
0:09 over 25 ways that you can make money
0:10 using your drone. Whether you're looking
0:12 for a weekend side hustle, you're
0:14 dreaming of launching your own business,
0:16 or you just want to work for a drone
0:18 service provider, we'll cover the best
0:21 options out there. Let's get to it.
0:23 Let's kick things off with drone jobs
0:25 that are perfect for a side hustle.
0:27 These are low barrier to entry. They
0:29 give you flexible hours and they can
0:31 generate some extra income. Stock
0:33 photography and videography. You can
0:35 upload your videos to sites like
0:37 Shuttertock or Blackbox. And if your
0:39 content gets used, then you get paid.
0:41 It's passive income and you can't go
0:43 wrong with that. Practice your shots, do
0:45 what you love, and make money doing it.
0:47 To get started, look for stock
0:49 photography sites and find out how to
0:51 become a contributor. Another option is
0:53 event videography. You can cover local
0:55 events or concerts or even festivals.
0:57 Reach out to your city's event
0:59 department or local venue to get
1:01 started. If you live in a place that is
1:03 a destination for travel, you can create
1:05 some amazing travel footage. Pitch it to
1:07 your local tourism board, hotels, and
1:09 city marketing departments. Reach out to
1:11 your local cities event or tourism
1:13 department and offer your footage.
1:16 Sporting events, skate parks, surfing,
1:18 motorsports. Offer highlight reels to
1:20 events organizers and to individual
1:22 athletes. Post sample work on social
1:24 media in order to attract attention. The
1:26 goal here is to capture footage that
1:28 people want to see. Drone light show
1:30 assistant. This one is an easy in. Drone
1:31 light shows are always looking for extra
1:34 hands and they want pilots with a 107
1:37 license. Join an existing LRO team as an
1:39 operator or as a tech. You learn the
1:40 ropes and also earn something on the
1:43 side. Drone footage sells houses.
1:45 Period. No questions about it. Offer
1:47 your services at a discounted rate to
1:48 start. And when you deliver results to
1:50 agents, they're going to ask to do more
1:53 work. Find realtors via Zillow or your
1:55 local agencies. Educational content.
1:57 Make tutorials or 3D maps, for example,
1:59 and sell them to schools or upload to
2:02 YouTube for monetization. Weddings, you
2:03 can partner with local photographers or
2:05 videographers and offer your aerial
2:07 work. If you have a ground camera, you
2:09 can offer that too. Reach out to your
2:11 friends and your family to build your
2:12 portfolio. Search for ads that are
2:14 looking for wedding photographers or
2:16 videographers. You can also go look on
2:18 Facebook groups, freelance platforms
2:20 like Fiverr or Upwork or even Facebook
2:23 Marketplace. There are ton of one-off
2:24 drone jobs that you can sign up for.
2:26 List your drone services and start
2:27 accepting gigs. If you're looking for
2:29 more information on jobs in the
2:31 industry, we have a lot of content that
2:33 you'll find useful. Head over to the
2:35 premium community. We have interviews
2:37 with working professionals and workshops
2:39 in various fields with plenty of
2:41 insights and tips that you're going to
2:42 want to check out. If you're ready to go
2:44 allin, you're going to need to put in
2:46 some work. First, you have to focus on
2:48 building your brand. If you want to
2:49 scale a real business, you're going to
2:51 need to build your foundation and pick
2:54 an area where you want to specialize in.
2:56 Inspections can bring good money. Reach
2:58 out to roofing companies or insurance
3:00 adjusters directly. Construction
3:02 progression surveys. Provide weekly or
3:04 monthly updates to builders. Offer your
3:06 services to general contractors or real
3:08 estate developers. Even offering a free
3:10 flight to show the value of a drone can
3:12 get your foot in the door. Use
3:14 photoggramometry to create a mosaic and
3:16 land elevation models. Great for civil
3:19 engineering firms. However, a surveying
3:20 certificate might be required.
3:23 Cinematography and scouting. Directors
3:25 are always looking for previews of where
3:26 they're going to shoot their movies.
3:28 Reach out to indie filmmakers or
3:30 production studios. And if you have the
3:33 skills, this can lead to future jobs and
3:34 the things that you like to do. And yes,
3:36 this one's on here again. Not only can
3:38 you do real estate for some side gigs,
3:40 if you're good at it, you can actually
3:43 build a successful drone business that
3:45 specializes in real estate. That being
3:46 said, expect to provide ground camera
3:48 photography and videography as well.
3:50 This may require an investment in some
3:52 decent cameras and lenses if you don't
3:54 have them already. Solar panel
3:56 inspections. Thermal cameras can detect
3:59 when a cell is not working correctly or
4:00 when there is debris on a solar panel. A
4:02 lot of companies may not realize the
4:04 value a drone can give to efficiency.
4:06 Pitch your services to solar companies
4:09 or property managers. You can work with
4:11 car dealerships, real estate agencies,
4:12 or even tourism departments in your
4:15 local area and sell them your product.
4:16 If you have the drive and determination
4:19 for it, create a reel and showcase your
4:21 skills for local businesses. Send a reel
4:23 to local agencies and ask for an
4:24 opportunity to do some paid work to
4:26 promote their businesses. Maybe you want
4:28 the stability of a full-time gig. And I
4:30 can't really blame you. There are a lot
4:32 of employers out there that are looking
4:35 for certified part 107 pilots. Here are
4:37 some of the jobs that are offered by
4:39 companies, by government, or even by
4:41 some agencies. Join your local fire
4:44 department to monitor wildfires in real
4:45 time. Now, careful here. This is often
4:48 seasonal and on call work and will
4:50 likely include other duties in addition
4:51 to flying your drone. Make sure you
4:52 don't do this on your own. Make sure
4:54 that you talk to your local department
4:55 first and make sure that they need the
4:58 help. Find missing hikers or help in
4:59 disasters. Volunteer with your local
5:01 search and rescue team or apply for
5:03 government grants. It's important that
5:04 you reach out to your local sheriff's
5:06 office or your local authorities before
5:08 you go fly. Don't do it on your own.
5:10 Working with a local department can lead
5:12 to rewarding work in this field. You can
5:14 literally help save lives. Disaster
5:17 relief assessment. After a fire or flood
5:20 or a hurricane, teams need quick aerial
5:22 overviews. Work for an NGO, the Red
5:24 Cross, or FEMA contractors. Again, this
5:26 can be extremely rewarding, but like
5:28 search and rescue, you'll need to get
5:30 involved before there's a situation. You
5:32 can help save lives and give back to
5:34 your community in a very big way. Mining
5:36 inquiry surveys. Photoggramometry can be
5:39 used to measure stockpiles and to survey
5:41 terrain. A drone is a powerful tool.
5:43 Drones are one of the many tools in a
5:44 surveyor's toolbox, and they can help
5:46 increase efficiency. Apply to mining
5:49 companies or to subcontracting survey
5:50 firms. You can also start your own
5:52 business as a contractor for mining
5:54 companies. help preserve local dig sites
5:57 or map remote ruins. If Indiana Jones
5:58 drones had a drone, he would not have
6:01 had to run from that big boulder. That's
6:02 for sure. There's a lot more to
6:04 archaeology than just flying drones,
6:05 though. This would allow you to work
6:08 with academic institutions or even
6:10 museums. Journalism and breaking news.
6:12 You can record aerial footage of events
6:14 as they unfold. If you have a drone
6:16 handy when a breaking event happens,
6:18 capture that footage. Now, fly safely
6:20 from a distance and don't get in the way
6:22 of any local authorities. But exclusive
6:23 footage can be worth its weight and
6:25 gold. You can sell footage to TV
6:27 networks or upload to video agencies.
6:29 While very uncommon, you might be able
6:31 to work with law enforcement to help
6:34 create reconstructions. But please don't
6:35 do this on your own. Make sure to work
6:37 with your local agency in order to
6:39 provide this service. Energy sector jobs
6:42 are another option. You can inspect wind
6:44 turbines, solar fields, or refineries.
6:46 apply directly to utility companies,
6:48 their contractors, or you can start your
6:50 own business and go after the contracts
6:52 yourself. Just make sure that you're
6:53 ready to scale when you get that
6:55 contract for 1500 wind turbines. Law
6:57 enforcement and security support
6:59 surveillance of public events through
7:01 either a private security agency or as a
7:03 member of law enforcement. Work will
7:05 depend on the department or the company.
7:07 Some departments hire full-time and some
7:09 of them are going to contract out. Drone
7:12 manufacturers actually also hire drone
7:14 pilots. And yes, you can do more than
7:16 just fly, including testing, coming up
7:18 with new features, assisting with
7:20 support, selling drones, and then more.
7:22 So, where do you actually find these
7:24 jobs? Here are some sources. Drone
7:26 Brothers is a network for pilots looking
7:28 for jobs in the construction industry.
7:30 Now, unlike other websites that post
7:31 jobs and offer them to the lowest
7:33 bidder, Drone Brothers actually onboards
7:35 pilots and then selects them based on
7:37 location and equipment. These jobs can
7:39 also be recurring and onboarding is
7:41 free, so give it a try. LinkedIn. Search
7:44 for drone operator, UAS pilot, remote
7:47 sensing. There are tons of opportunities
7:50 on LinkedIn. Fiverr and Upwork. These
7:51 are great for building a portfolio with
7:53 small quick jobs. You can also go on
7:55 Indeed. There are tons of full-time
7:57 listings, especially in inspection and
7:59 in constructions. You can also look for
8:01 drone manufacturers. There are a lot
8:03 more than you think. Many list pilot
8:05 networks or have job boards for
8:07 certified users. Many larger firms also
8:08 have their own listings on their
8:10 website. If you have a particular
8:12 company in mind, be sure that you check
8:14 there as well.
8:16 Drones are doing way more than just
8:18 taking cool videos or cool photos.
8:20 They're actually transforming how the
8:22 industry works, and there is a lot of
8:24 opportunities for you in this growing
8:25 industry. We want to make sure that we
8:27 can help you be successful flying your
8:29 drone under part 107. If you want to
8:30 learn more about specific jobs and
8:32 getting work in the industry, make sure
8:34 you check out the pilot institute
8:36 community. There you're going to find
8:38 insights from working professionals in
8:40 pretty much every single field that use
