Drone pilots who live in a situation with a one-million-person talent gap are worried about their career direction.
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In the Xinghe WORLD Industrial Park in Shenzhen, people can often look up and see the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) "showing off their might" in the air.
"Has the domestic development reached this level?" Xiaohua, an overseas student who has not returned to China for a long time and is doing an internship in this area, always thought that UAVs were only used for panoramic shooting until she ordered an unmanned aerial vehicle takeout.
Unmanned aerial vehicle takeout is just an epitome of the low-altitude economy. In the corners that the general public has not yet noticed, earth-shaking changes have begun to occur in the modes of transportation, traffic, and travel: In April, the first low-altitude short-distance transportation route in the Greater Bay Area from Shenzhen to Zhuhai was opened; From mid-August, cross-provincial "flying taxis" have been shuttling between Shanghai and Kunshan, Jiangsu every day; Also in August, the first unmanned aerial vehicle logistics and distribution route in Beijing, the Badaling Great Wall Route, was officially opened.
The development of the low-altitude economy has derived a series of emerging products. Currently, the main products of the low-altitude economy include the highly concerned eVTOL (Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Aircraft), UAVs (consumer-level, industrial-level), helicopters, and traditional fixed-wing aircraft.
For the UAV industry, it is currently a time when the country is frequently introducing favorable policies. On October 8, 2024, at a press conference of the Information Office of the State Council, Li Chunlin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, mentioned: According to the calculations of relevant departments, the vigorous development of the low-altitude economy has given rise to a new position, the UAV operator (commonly known as the "pilot"), and the talent gap in this position in China is as high as 1 million people.
On the 24th of the same month, Zhao Zhiguo, the spokesperson and chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, proposed "cultivating and expanding new industries and new tracks such as the low-altitude economy" in terms of "increasing development momentum". Tao Qing, director of the Operation Monitoring and Coordination Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that currently, the development of the low-altitude industry is mainly focused on strengthening top-level planning, strengthening the traction of multiple application scenarios, promoting the integrated innovation of information technology and equipment development, and improving the industrial regulations and standards system. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in conjunction with relevant departments, has issued a number of measures and regulations, including the "Implementation Plan for the Innovative Application of General Aviation Equipment (2024 - 2030)".
The policies have injected a strong impetus into the industry and also brought popularity to the profession of "pilot". The "pilot" is not a new profession. As early as 2015 and 2016, 36Kr mentioned this role in its reports on the UAV industry [1] . Pilots have many employment directions. In the civilian field, it covers many applications such as aerial photography, plant protection, electricity, and mapping. In the military field, the army also urgently needs talents who can use UAVs to perform tasks such as reconnaissance and tracking. Moreover, having a UAV driver's license and related skills gives more advantages in the application for national special positions.
This year, both the "low-altitude economy" and the "pilot" have aroused extensive discussions and popularity on platforms such as WeChat, Xiaohongshu, and Bilibili. On November 23, the overall WeChat index value of the term "pilot" increased by 296.31% compared with the previous period.
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The growth in demand has driven the popularization of UAV pilot education. UAVs now not only serve specific jobs in design institutes, public security, transportation, and fire protection, but also are applied in almost all municipal units that provide social services, such as tobacco civil air defense, mapping companies, and water conservancy companies. Taking advantage of this trend, as of August 2024, there are already 1,004 UAV training institutions in the country. Moreover, there are more than 400 undergraduate and junior college institutions nationwide that have opened UAV majors.
However, the perception of many practitioners is that the current UAV pilot positions are saturated. "The 1 million is benchmarked against the number of UAVs, but in the company scale, it is often the case that one pilot operates multiple UAVs." [2]
The number of people mastering the skill of flying UAVs is constantly increasing. As of August 2024, the number of UAV driver's licenses in the country has reached 220,000 [3] . However, at the recruitment end, according to the data from Zhiyouji, in 2024, the number of publicly recruited UAV pilot positions is 299, accounting for 0.752% of all positions in UAV companies.
Amid the two voices of talent gap and market saturation, some people are still troubled by "how to enter the industry", while relevant practitioners begin to concern about the future scarce directions and which categories or scenarios they will emerge from.
[1] 36Kr "Why Is the Third-Party UAV Service Provider Skycatch Treated Coldly?" and "If You Are Concerned About UAV Entrepreneurship, It Is Better to See What These More Than 100 Civil UAV Companies Are Doing" (Author: Shi Yaqiong)
[2] Quoted from "New Weekly" published on November 28, 2024, "Spending 10,000 Yuan to Take the Pilot Certificate, but Unable to Find a Job for Two Years"
[3] Data source: "2023 - 2024 China Civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Development Report" released at the Second CATA Aviation Conference on October 26.
Which certificates must be obtained? ╱ 01
The market situation is chaotic in some areas, and enterprises prefer experienced candidates for external recruitment ╱ 02
The UAV plant protection is becoming popular, and pilots turn to be UAV sales ╱ 03
Operate unique aircraft models, or become an instructor ╱ 04
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Which certificates must be obtained?
The advantage of the UAV flight job is that the working space is free and the time is flexible. To become a professional UAV operator, pilots must obtain relevant certificates.
There are CAAC, ALPA, AOPA, UTC, and ASFC for UAV driver's licenses. The CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) UAV driver's license is the basic threshold for applying to enterprises.
There are relevant preferential policies for special groups to obtain certificates. Guo Xu started learning UAVs after retiring from the army. Benefiting from the support policy for the reemployment of retired soldiers from the army, he learned about this new direction. Through the free training provided by the Veterans Affairs Bureau, he began to set foot in this new field of UAVs.
The price of applying for the CAAC beyond-visual-line-of-sight pilot is not low, and the market price is more than 10,000 yuan. The courses provided by the army for free only provide theory, but are not responsible for practical operation teaching. After careful consideration, Guo Xu decided to apply for the CAAC multi-rotor beyond-visual-line-of-sight pilot. From learning to obtaining the certificate, Guo Xu spent a total of 14,800 yuan. Among them, the government subsidy is 5,000 yuan.
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According to the regulations of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), obtaining a UAV driver's license is not complicated, but it needs to be carried out in a certain order. First, the applicant must be at least 16 years old and have a junior high school education or above. The exam is divided into three stages: visual-line-of-sight driver's license, beyond-visual-line-of-sight driver's license, and instructor certificate. The difference between the first two is similar to that between C1 and C2 in a car driver's license.
Specifically, the visual-line-of-sight driver's license allows the operator to control the UAV within the line of sight, while the beyond-visual-line-of-sight driver's license allows operation outside the line of sight. It is worth noting that a pilot with a beyond-visual-line-of-sight driver's license can perform tasks within the line of sight, but the reverse is not allowed. In addition, pilots can choose to skip the exam for the visual-line-of-sight driver's license and directly apply for the beyond-visual-line-of-sight driver's license.
Importantly, only by obtaining the beyond-visual-line-of-sight driver's license can one be eligible to apply for the flight airspace. And the flight airspace is essential for UAV instructors. To become a UAV instructor, one must first obtain a beyond-visual-line-of-sight driver's license before taking the instructor certificate.
The market situation is chaotic in some areas, and enterprises prefer experienced candidates for external recruitment
After really entering this industry, Guo Xu found that the market is already saturated, especially in the Shandong region, where the company size is small and the management is chaotic, and the business is mostly outsourced. His working direction is electricity and mapping, with a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan during the probation period and 3,500 yuan after becoming a regular employee (including five social insurances and one housing fund). As for salary increase, there is no fixed cycle, and it is usually an increase of 500 yuan each time, but this also depends entirely on the boss's mood - and he learned that the salary of UAV pilots in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou can reach about 9,000 yuan.
In addition to the basic salary, the salary of pilots is also highly dependent on work commissions. For example, when going out to perform tasks, for each tower found, Guo Xu can earn an additional 1 yuan; if calculated by kilometers, he can earn 10 yuan per kilometer. The former can bring him about 80 yuan of additional income per day, and the latter can reach more than 100 yuan. However, if there is a violation at work, this part of the income will also be deducted.
Currently, enterprises tend to recruit those with work experience. The UAV industry has been developing rapidly since 5 years ago [4] . Due to the low entry threshold for UAV pilots, a large number of talents have flocked in. Enterprises now prefer those skilled workers who can start working immediately. Relevant data shows that in the recruitment of UAV pilots, the proportion of fresh graduates is only 0.2%, while those with 1 - 3 years of work experience account for 61.9%. After Guo Xu obtained the UAV driver's license in 2022, he also once faced the predicament of being unable to find a job for a long time.
Some companies and public institutions choose to train their own employees instead of recruiting externally. Considering the cost-effectiveness and the employees' familiarity with the unit's situation, units such as traffic police, fire protection, power grid, and urban management have actively implemented the measure of "old employees with new skills" and arranged for employees to participate in the certificate examination and training. On April 24 this year, Nantong City held a multi-rotor UAV visual-line-of-sight driver training for the firefighter team, with more than 60 trainees participating.
There are many micro-enterprises in the UAV industry, and there is a situation of continuous price-cutting and "involution" in the competition. "After one company quotes a price, another company may reduce it by one or two thousand. Usually, the boss will not lose money, and the reduced money is deducted from the pilots." At the same time, many companies揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活无序揽活揽活