Photo credit: San Diego Community College District
Nearly 200 students took courses in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, more commonly known as drones, at San Diego Miramar College in the 2018-19 academic year.
The college began offering drone courses in spring 2018 and now offers a Remote Pilot Certificate of Performance. From spring 2018-spring 2019, 95 students completed Remote Pilot Ground School in preparation for FAA certification.
“Many of these students took and passed the FAA certification test and are now FAA-certificated Remote Pilots,” said Max Moore, Assistant Professor of Aviation Operations at Miramar.
In addition, 81 students received hands-on training through the college’s Flight Lab. Training includes photography, videography, mapping, and applying for airspace authorizations.
With millions of drones in operation, Moore said the program’s graduates have not had any trouble finding employment in the industry.
“Our students have worked with companies in Northern California helping PG&E survey damage done by the recent fires,” Moore said. “Other students are working with local drone companies to photo and video construction projects, another has been working with companies that monitor crop health, and yet another co-owns and operates an advertising company that uses drones for aerial advertising.”
Moore noted that one of his former students just returned from Puerto Rico, where he made his first $100 in the drone business, while there on vacation.
Moore said the college plans to add a Certificate of Achievement to the curriculum that will specifically focus on advanced remote pilot operations. The program has received equipment donations from companies throughout the region.
“The ATL Sector and San Diego Gas and Electric have donated equipment to the program,” Moore said. “SDG&E uses sUAS equipment to inspect power lines and poles, and has handed down their legacy equipment as their flight program has grown and their linemen have upgraded their equipment. We also received a donated DJI S1000 drone from SkyGrower, an authorized DJI dealer based in Exeter, CA.”
For more information about the drone programs at Miramar, visit https://www.sdmiramar.edu/programs/aviation-operations.
