Career Advice on How to Become A Flight Attendant

General Career Information

You might be wondering why flight attendants exist. Why have the airlines have simply not fired them all to reduce costs and give their executive directors massive pay raises and bonuses? The answer is that the law requires that flights have flight attendants. Otherwise, more than likely not only would there not be any peanuts or drinks, there wouldn’t be any flight attendants either; at least not for economy class.

The job of the flight attendant, other than trying to “land” a rich doctor, businessman or pilot, is to make sure that passengers are comfortable when they are stuck sitting on the runway for six hours. If that sounds like your idea of a good time, then this might be the job for you. Is there free travel? Why yes, there certainly is free travel, but remember nothing is ever exactly free.

Career Facts:

Flight attendants do more than work with passengers once they are on an airplane. Today flight attendants take passenger tickets and greet passengers as they arrive and enter the plane. Information is a big part of the flight attendant’s job, such as telling passengers all necessary safety information. Once on the plane, flight attendants are expected to keep passengers safe as the number one priority. This can mean, amongst other activities, making certain that passengers know what to do in the event of a water landing over Nebraska for example. (In case you were wondering, the answer to that question is nothing, just wait for impact.)

Career Opportunities and Job Outlook- Average:

The job growth rate for flight attendants is expected to be about eight percent, which is average for all jobs.

A Day in The Life:

Flight attendants spend a great deal of time flying. This should be of no real shock to anyone. However, what many may find a little shocking is that flight attendants can spend as much as ninety hours per month in the air with another fifty hours a month being dedicated to other work while on the ground. It is common for flight attendants to spend a great deal of time away from home, usually somewhere around one-third of their time, in fact. Days can be long with twelve to fourteen-hour days being fairly common. Now try doing that while looking good enough to try and snag a wealthy businessman! That stated, the perception that flight attendants are always women has given way in recent years as more and more men have entered the profession.

Additionally, it is important to note that flight attendants are injured on the job more than is the average. The reason for this fact is that their working environment is often a moving one, and this means stumbles and falls do occur.

Average Salary:

All those hours in the air being exposed to coughing and sneezing people must come with a big financial reward, right? Sadly the answer is no. The average flight attendant earns about $36,000 with the top ten percent of flight attendants earning about $65,000.

$36k

Career Training and Qualifications:

So what else do you need to know before beginning your career planning and job search? The FAA must certify all flight attendants, even the very pretty ones, and a high school diploma is a must. In recent years, some airlines have begun to expect applicants to hold a bachelor’s degree. Due to International travel, the ability of an applicant to speak more than one language is seen as a definite plus.