Drone Technician Program

What is a Drone Technician?
A Drone Technician flies, troubleshoots, and tests remotely piloted vehicles, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), or just flying drones. They also repair drones, debug drone fleet systems, operate or train personnel to operate drone fleets, manage autonomous drone delivery systems, and operate aerial light shows. Most drones are flying computers (robots) with advanced wireless networks which run the Linux Operating System. A Drone Technician or anyone else who flys drones for commercial purpose (gets paid to fly a drone) is required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to hold a FAA Remote Pilot Certificate.

What is the pay for a Drone Technician?
Though compensation for Drone Technician jobs varies greatly, starting pay is around $20 per hour or a salary of $40,000 per year. This is about $4000 more per year than the Computer Support Technician (Level 1) Certificate, and it gives you more career options, for just one additional course ! Average salary is about $50,000 but can exceed $80,000. This average is affected by that fact that overseas jobs can often earn much higher salaries. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts job growth that will be faster than the average for all occupations.

What is the Drone Technician Certificate?
The Drone Technician Certificate is a college issued certificate that is issued to students who complete the 4 core courses required to earn the Computer Support Technician (Level 1) Certificate with the addition of online courseware based training to help students pass the FAA Remote Pilot Certificate Exam. When students complete the Computer Support Technician (Level 1) Certificate they will receive 10 units of college credit (pending curriculum approval for 2022). Upon passing the FAA Remote Pilot Certificate Exam, students may receive 2 additional units by means of Credit for Prior Learning (CPL). It is currently pallned that The Drone Technician Certificate will make available an online course through the MJC Adult Education Program which will employ commercialy produced courseware to prepare students for the FAA Remote Pilot Certificate Exam which is given at the FAA testing center used by airplane pilots (typically located near airports) . Drone Technicians also qualify as Computer Support Technicians making them attractive to employers because they can perform multiple roles. The Drone Technician Certificate is expected to be available in 2022 subject to official curriculum approval. However students can start now by beginning the Computer Support Technician (Level 1) Certificate of the Computer Support Specialist Program. Here is a YouTube video that describes the Drone Technician Certificate: https://youtu.be/J3n5lhjZ4Bg

What are the SkillsUSA Championship Competitions?
The SkillsUSA Championships is the preeminent showcase of public technical education in the United States. The championships recognize career and technical students who excel in their occupational areas. SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA is a nonprofit national education association, SkillsUSA serves middle-school, high-school and college/postsecondary students preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service (including health) occupations.

SkillsUSA serves more than 372,655 students and instructors annually. This includes 20,598 instructors who join as professional members. Including alumni, SkillsUSA membership totals over 434,000. SkillsUSA has served 13.6 million annual members cumulatively since 1965 and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor as a successful model of employer-driven workforce development.

Students who prepare for the FAA Remote Pilot Certificate will also be preparing to participate in the SkillsUSA Commercial Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) competition. The SkillsUSA Championships have competitions in many Career and Technical Education (CTE) related fields and there are competition level for students in Middle School High School and College. There are local, state, and national SkillsUSA competitions. Participating in SkillsUSA provides many advantages to students in the employment market.