Originally Posted by
tonsterboy5
Sorry for asking, maybe an employer would value someone with operational experience in the airspace where the job will be. Or maybe an employer would like someone who has been to austere environments before, or maybe it's the fact that I wouldn't need a new security clearance which includes significant time and $$$
The prospective employer may value those things, however the customer sets the minimum hiring requirements.
One of my buddies at L3 is a former UAS pilot who got on after doing a year at the regionals to get the minimum required flight time (multi engine turbine) for their Pilot 3 program. It's not unusual for former UAS folks join the team once they met the minimum flight time requirments and be successful. If it's something you're interested in then I recommend getting the min required time then applying- your background probably wouldn't hurt during the application process.