So a common question I get asked is: how did I become a commercial professional drone pilot? So I’m gonna talk about that in this video right now hello and welcome to journey row, the channel that helps you grow your income as a drone pilot, I’m Taylor Mitchum and I’m.

A professional commercial drone pilot in the United States – and I get I get asked this question a lot, so I figured I’d. Do a video right now! I’m standing down for some fog, that’s rolling in rolled in it’s, definitely rolled in not rolling in, and so I thought this would be a good time.

While I’m just waiting in the field to do a quick video talking about how I became a drone pilot, so for me it all started about five years ago I was working for a construction contractor and at the time they were looking for Innovative ways to capture their construction progression, how things were going on on the project and so not to drag this story out to be a 30-minute, long video, but basically they were looking for somebody to get their drone stuff started and they were gonna start with A few, and originally I’ve, put in a proposal about what I think we should have drone wise, how many drones we should have.

I said we should get one. They ended up, giving me a credit card and saying go out and buy six. So I went out and bought three three six DJI phantom 3 at the time, and we started with those we flew them on all six of the job sites that I was working on and basically I learned to fly and learned how to train people all in The same week um so that was pretty crazy.

Getting that started getting insurance put together, writing standard operating procedures, putting together pre-flight checklist at all all that stuff. So I do have a very, very small background in manned aviation.

I have done my solo and assessment. That’s, as far as I went as far as that pursuit goes, so I took the little bit of band aviation knowledge that I knew and kind of brought it over to the unmanned aviation side, and so then, from there I really enjoyed yes, A lot and flying drones on construction sites and things eventually that construction project ended and I got transferred to a new project in another state that did not allow drones to be flown on that property from there.

That’s, pretty much where I thought my drone career was gonna end, but I ended up purchasing my own drone and got my part 107, of course, and then started doing drones on the side. Just whenever I wasn’t working and that side of it grew and grew and grew, I started out doing just like really basic progression photos.

I started doing some work for some architecture firms and some other augmented reality kind of work. It’s, basically, where you take a picture of something as it is, and then they put a footprint of a building on top of it, which there’s an example on the screen so gone into some of that and that slowly Grew and grew and grew where I lived.

Eventually, I moved to Florida about a year after that and in Florida I was able to get into some storm response work and everything just sort of progressed from there. As far as like having my own business, you know working for other people, and things like that.

I’ve, been able to do a lot of great projects. Like I said I’ve done three hurricanes. Now I ‘ Ve worked three hurricanes, four hurricanes actually for four hurricanes. I’ve done a lot of infrastructure inspection work.

I’ve done surveying and mapping projects when I worked for an engineering firm, so I’ve done a large array of projects within the UAS space currently on an infrastructure, inspection project, um and the boxes behind me by the way, if You’re wondering what all this stuff is in my vehicle.

These are actually battery boxes. You have to pack batteries when you ship them a certain way. So these that’s. What these are, these are boxes for batteries and other various equipment. There’s, a lot of Pelican cases and things back here so and then this video is definitely on the shorter side compared to some of the other things that I have on my channel.

But that’s, pretty much. How I got into drones, I kind of stumbled into it when I was working for a construction company and then from there I got my part 107 and and all that stuff. So if you have any questions about that, I’ll.

Do another video on how, if I were new in the industry, how I would go about getting my part 107 and getting into this now? There are way more resources and way more opportunities now to get into UAS and drones and become a drone pilot.

If that’s, something you want to do so, I’ll. Do a separate video on that, but I just wanted to put out my story just how I got into it. Like I said, started at the construction contractor, then I started doing it on the side and then it just sort of grew from there.

So I wish I could show you the project that I’m on and the work that I’m doing, but because I’m working with infrastructure, they don’t. Allow that sort of thing to be on YouTube. So unless you get explicit permission, which I haven’t gotten that yet maybe one day I’ll, do like a full day in the life like doing some inspection stuff or maybe some more day in the life like field stuff.

Like I said, I’m in the field right now, but you know coming in the future. If that’s, something you want to see. Let me know in the comments below, because I want to share as much as what I do with y’all who are interested, and maybe you want to pursue this so I’m Taylor Mitchum.

This is Gennaro and I will see you in the next video fly safe,