Jobs/Careers Related to RC aircraft flying/building/designing

[The Alpine Ace]

Everyone wants a job. Everyone [here] loves playing with airplanes. So what are the best opportunities to combine the two?
I myself am going into Aerospace Engineering or Astrological Engineering, but there are plenty of young kids and teens out there who love flying RC, that are curious to what life could hold in store for them! Please, if you have any suggestions or ideas, please state them below. Inspire the next generation! Explain the occupation like you're explaining the job to a middle schooler. What kind of environment would you be in? What would be the best part? What would be the not-so-best part? What skills are necessary? What kind of personality would this job require?
Go NUTZ!

 

[FlyingMonkey]

Good question!

Take Flite Test as just one example.

You have everything from the people who create the show content such as the hosts, the camera operators (both ground and from the air), video editing, directing, etc. Then there's the office operations as well as the store, and the warehouse/manufacturing/shipping.

You've got the bigger companies like Horizon or Hobby King that have product designers, advertisers, sales personnel.

There's going to be lots of commercial applications, from guys like Eric Monroe that do commercial photography/video, to operators for emergency services.

There's going to be a need for service and repair for the commercial side of things.

And there is going to be government jobs related to the regulation of the commercial operations.

Just to name a few...

 

[BeezerFish]

Check out the careers section at uavcoach.com. They've got tons of listings for uav related jobs which should give you a feel for what's out there and the skills needed

 

[makattack]

There's a lot of engineering that goes into rc. I know a lot of mechanical, electrical and computer engineering applies to the hobby. Heck, I was reading the technical specifications and design document for a newer Volkswagen diesel engine and saw references to brushless motors, speed controllers and pwm signal lines.

Look at something like the flight controllers and you'll see a lot of software, hardware development that relies heavily on control theory.