Montana Students Soar With New Drone Technology Opportunities

"Drone technology is improving the safety and efficiency of industries across Big Sky Country."

Abigail Lauten-Scrivner, UM News Service, tells us that's part of the driving force motivating the University of Montana to be the state’s command center for training the experts who will pilot them. From reimagining disaster monitoring to reshaping agriculture and beyond, UM is leading from the front in a rapidly-changing field.

DID YOU KNOW UM HAS AN AUTONOMOUS AERIAL SYSTEMS OFFICE?

There's a mouthful! Let's keep it to "AASO" moving forward. And as that office grows, so too has its capacity to guide and support students, faculty and the public in navigating complex and often-changing regulations. AASO also drives drone-related innovation, entrepreneurship and workforce development across Montana.

Bart Bauer, associate director of UM’s AASO, says the University of Montana is primarily the main hub for all drones throughout the state. This summer, AASO accepted its largest class of interns in the history of the program. The office usually accepts about three students and turns some away. This year it took nearly 10.

Jeremy Crowley, UM's AASO director says, “You cannot get a job if you don't have an internship. So those types of skills, they're becoming almost mandatory.”

With the right internship and degree combination, Crowley said students can expect to graduate with job offers as high as $65,000 a year or more.

NO EXPERIENCE? NO PROBLEM

Most interns start the program with zero drone experience. The main goal is to make sure students achieve a certain Federal Aviation Administration license; the commercial authorization that allows them to fly a drone for money. They also go beyond the basics of what’s required to fly, learning to build drones and study the inner mechanisms of how different types work

Find out more about this fascinating field and more about what's involved here.

READ MORE: Public Service Leader: University of Montana Earns Major Honor