RecordMove

Drone pilot to private pilot

A drone pilot already meets 36% of what the private pilot role asks for. The move turns on 21 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional

From drone pilot

Distant match

To private pilot

13 You already bring

21 Still to learn

36 Skills in the target role2

Learning distance Substantial retraining

69.7/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 How much of what a private pilot is expected to do is already part of a drone pilot’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the private pilot role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A private pilot role treats 12 of its required skills as things a drone pilot already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

analyse weather forecast
aviation meteorology
civil aviation regulations
comply with air traffic control operations
ensure compliance with civil aviation regulations
have spatial awareness

What stands in the way is 21 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A private pilot role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a drone pilot background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held perform take off and landing working with machinery and specialised equipment
already held perform flight manoeuvres working with machinery and specialised equipment
already held civil aviation regulations services
already held ensure compliance with civil aviation regulations assisting and caring
already held comply with air traffic control operations assisting and caring
already held operate radio navigation instruments working with machinery and specialised equipment

All 13 carried skills, including the 12 the private pilot role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 23 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier

01 assisting and caring 5 required

still to learn apply airport standards and regulations required
still to learn follow airport safety procedures required
still to learn implement airside safety procedures required
still to learn ensure ongoing compliance with regulations required
still to learn undertake procedures to meet aircraft flight requirements required

02 working with machinery and specialised equipment 5 required

still to learn apply signalling control procedures required
still to learn operate two-way radio systems required
still to learn operate cockpit control panels required
still to learn operate radar equipment required
still to learn operate radio equipment required

03 services 4 required

still to learn air traffic control operations required
still to learn aircraft flight control systems required
still to learn pre-flight procedures for IFR flights required
still to learn visual flight rules required

04 information skills 3 required

still to learn identify airport safety hazards required
still to learn perform risk analysis required
still to learn read 3D displays required

05 business, administration and law 2 required

still to learn air transport law required
still to learn common aviation safety regulations required

06 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn communicate in air traffic services required

optional, not held work in an aviation team optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a private pilot role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 13 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held analyse weather forecast skill
already held aviation meteorology knowledge
already held civil aviation regulations knowledge
already held comply with air traffic control operations skill
already held ensure compliance with civil aviation regulations skill
already held have spatial awareness skill
already held operate radio navigation instruments skill
already held perform flight manoeuvres skill
already held perform routine flight operations checks skill
already held perform take off and landing skill
already held read maps skill
already held use different communication channels skill
already held use meteorological information skill

The 2 learning areas not shown above

Skill to pick up Tier

07 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 required

still to learn geographic areas required

08 management skills 1 supplementary

optional, not held make independent operating decisions optional

2 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to pick up Tier

optional, not held work in an aviation team optional
optional, not held make independent operating decisions optional

51 held skills the private pilot role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role adapt to changing situations skill
not needed by the target role address aircraft mechanical issues skill
not needed by the target role agronomical production principles knowledge
not needed by the target role agronomy knowledge
not needed by the target role apply precision farming skill
not needed by the target role apply transportation management concepts skill
not needed by the target role audio editing software knowledge
not needed by the target role automation technology knowledge
not needed by the target role aviation standards and recommended practices knowledge
not needed by the target role carry out navigational calculations skill
not needed by the target role comply with checklists skill
not needed by the target role crop production principles knowledge
not needed by the target role data protection knowledge
not needed by the target role digital camera sensors knowledge
not needed by the target role edit digital moving images skill
not needed by the target role ensure aircraft compliance with regulation skill
not needed by the target role ensure public safety and security skill
not needed by the target role entrepreneurship knowledge
not needed by the target role extinguish fires skill
not needed by the target role guidance, navigation and control knowledge
not needed by the target role inspect offshore constructions skill
not needed by the target role inspect pipelines skill
not needed by the target role international waterways knowledge
not needed by the target role maintain robotic equipment skill
not needed by the target role maintain sensor equipment skill
not needed by the target role manage forest fires skill
not needed by the target role offshore constructions and facilities knowledge
not needed by the target role operate a camera skill
not needed by the target role operate control systems skill
not needed by the target role perform search and rescue missions skill
not needed by the target role pneumatics knowledge
not needed by the target role prepare production prototypes skill
not needed by the target role protect personal data and privacy skill
not needed by the target role rail infrastructure knowledge
not needed by the target role read assembly drawings skill
not needed by the target role read engineering drawings skill
not needed by the target role read standard blueprints skill
not needed by the target role record test data skill
not needed by the target role respond to changing navigation circumstances skill
not needed by the target role robotic components knowledge

11 further entries not listed here

7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier

still to learn air traffic control operations required
still to learn air transport law required
still to learn aircraft flight control systems required
still to learn common aviation safety regulations required
still to learn pre-flight procedures for IFR flights required
still to learn geographic areas required
still to learn visual flight rules required

Index

Other moves recorded from drone pilot

Full index of moves from drone pilot

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a drone pilot become a private pilot?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A drone pilot already covers 36% of what a private pilot is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 12 of which the private pilot role treats as required.

What skills does a drone pilot need to become a private pilot?

21 required skills are missing, plus 2 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is air traffic control operations.

How hard is the move from drone pilot to private pilot?

Its learning distance is 69.7 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.