Also called: Drone Show Technician, Drone Show Designer
Programs and flies hundreds of glowing drones that create pictures in the night sky.
Drone show crews design animations in software, lay out hundreds of drones on a field, run safety checks, and monitor the fleet during a show at stadiums or July 4 celebrations.
New field; figures are estimates from job postings.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Certificate, about 1 year after high school. FAA Part 107 certificate plus company training; animation skills help.
Ways in: Certification, Self-taught, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Animation, Aviation, Computer Science.
Growing much faster than average. Drone shows are replacing some fireworks.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Shows are already software-choreographed and one operator can run hundreds of drones; setup, safety checks and design stay human.
Age 18+. One way to start: Pass the FAA Part 107 test, then apply to drone show companies as show crew First: FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate (a few weeks of study and a test)
Classes: Computer Science, Art/animation, Physics, Video production.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.