My dad once told me that to become a professional in any field, one would need to have at least ten thousand hours of direct study or practice in a given field or sport. 10,000 hours is essentially one year of full time 40 hour-a-week employment for five years straight. If we think about it, we do 12 years of school then if we want to get a degree, there are a further 4 years of direct study in a given field at collage to reach a goal. Sports is same thing, a kid might play football through high school then go to collage for four more years to play there before he can make it to the 'pros'
Drones are like an iceberg. They are deceptive in their size and scope of complexity, and as automation increases, this only broadens the underlying complexity. I look at a modern drone as having at least three major areas of complexity that each require at least a 'four year degree of practice' and; depending on the person, the importance of each of the three professions necessary for success can be placed in various orders of importance and they are: Flight Operations, Photography and/or Cinematography and Systems Maintenance.
Each of those fields requires a lot of study to get your head wrapped around them and there are very few shortcuts (this forum may be one). Many of us are lucky in that we came from an RC world which; pretty much gives one an overwhelming understanding of flight operations and maintenance for the most part. But that is only part of the equation as understanding and using cameras even as simple as the ones on our drones is a very deep field and not one that can be picked up and or mastered in a month or even a year. Basically, the three skill sets are equivalent to three separate four year degrees.
About 6 months after I learned to fly RC I was asked by my club to be the selected introduction member that would spend time with any new pilots to help get them acquainted to the club and AMA rules and get them flying. Later that summer a new member shows up at a meeting and we were introduced and set up a field meeting. He was an airline pilot so I thought that perhaps he would take to the controls fairly quick. Long story short, he didn't. He was one of the slowest to learn, worst pilots I had ever seen. I distinctly remember during one flight were I was trying to get him to make the base and final turns (where he always failed), he said "whoever thought of such foolishness"
He didn't have the respect for the hobby required to give him enough intellectual curiosity to even apply himself to make a "toy" airplane fly. Hmm, go figure. Within three months, we never saw him again. Over the 42 years I have been flying it is this very attitude and ones like it that keep flyers from succeeding and having an enjoyable experience in the hobby.
I think the key to this hobby is the same, if we decide to apply ourselves to acquire the skills necessary and accept the challenges, and go into it with an open and curious attitude and an understanding of the distance of our journey, then experience and mastery will follow.
