How much does a drone pilot make?

The figures at the top of this page show the median and the middle half of salaries offered in drone pilot and flight operations jobs over the last 12 months. Where a pilot lands in that range depends mostly on the sector, the aircraft, the experience asked for and whether the role carries a security clearance.

How much do drone pilots make an hour?

Many field and operator roles pay by the hour. The hourly figure next to the median is that same median spread over a full-time year of 2,080 hours, which makes hourly and salaried jobs comparable.

Is drone pilot a good career?

It can be, especially as a way into the wider drone industry. Pure piloting roles pay less than engineering ones, as the comparison table shows, but pilots who add maintenance, test, training or operations management skills move into better-paid work, and defense and delivery programmes keep hiring.

How much do Air Force drone pilots make?

Military drone pilots are paid by rank and years of service on the public military pay tables, plus housing and food allowances and, for rated pilots, aviation incentive pay. Their pay is not in these figures, which cover civilian job postings only. Contractors who fly the same aircraft for defense customers are, and often pay well above the civilian median.

Do I need a Part 107 certificate to earn this?

For most commercial flying in the US, yes. Many of the jobs behind these figures ask for an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate, and it is the baseline employers screen for before they look at experience.

Drone Pilot Salary

What drone pilots and operators actually get paid

These figures are not a survey or an estimate. They come from the drone pilot, operator and flight operations jobs posted on Dronejobs over the last 12 months that stated a salary, so they show what employers are offering right now.

Not enough jobs with a stated salary yet to publish reliable figures. Check back soon.

What moves a drone pilot's pay

The range above is wide because "drone pilot" covers very different jobs. At the lower end sit entry-level field roles: flying pre-planned survey, inspection or delivery missions, often paid by the hour. At the upper end are pilots and operators on defense programmes, flight test pilots on new aircraft, and chief pilots who run an operation rather than fly every mission. Clearance requirements, overnight travel and remote deployments all push an offer up.

Certification is the floor, not the ceiling. An FAA Part 107 certificate gets a pilot through the door, while logged hours, experience with specific aircraft and sensors, and waivers for night or beyond-visual-line-of-sight flying are what employers pay more for. Pilots who also maintain and repair their aircraft, or who can process the data they collect, compete for better-paid hybrid roles.

Where the money is in the drone industry

The comparison table shows the drone pilot median next to every other line of work in the industry. Engineering roles sit well above piloting, which is why many pilots use flight experience as a way into test, field service, training or operations management. Defense and government customers appear across the top of the range, often under UAV and UAS job titles rather than "drone pilot".

Browse drone pilot jobs

Questions, answered

How much does a drone pilot make?: The figures at the top of this page show the median and the middle half of salaries offered in drone pilot and flight operations jobs over the last 12 months. Where a pilot lands in that range depends mostly on the sector, the aircraft, the experience asked for and whether the role carries a security clearance.
How much do drone pilots make an hour?: Many field and operator roles pay by the hour. The hourly figure next to the median is that same median spread over a full-time year of 2,080 hours, which makes hourly and salaried jobs comparable.
Is drone pilot a good career?: It can be, especially as a way into the wider drone industry. Pure piloting roles pay less than engineering ones, as the comparison table shows, but pilots who add maintenance, test, training or operations management skills move into better-paid work, and defense and delivery programmes keep hiring.
How much do Air Force drone pilots make?: Military drone pilots are paid by rank and years of service on the public military pay tables, plus housing and food allowances and, for rated pilots, aviation incentive pay. Their pay is not in these figures, which cover civilian job postings only. Contractors who fly the same aircraft for defense customers are, and often pay well above the civilian median.
Do I need a Part 107 certificate to earn this?: For most commercial flying in the US, yes. Many of the jobs behind these figures ask for an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate, and it is the baseline employers screen for before they look at experience.