Let me get started by saying this: I never wanted to be a Flight Attendant. I viewed Flight Attendant’s as ditzy women and men serving only one purpose: to give me my Diet Coke. Really. This is what I thought. And I know I’m not alone, because I see the bored look in your eyes as you watch me perform the safety demo, or even better, when you avoid eye contact with me at all costs. It’s okay. I don’t blame you.
I used to do the same thing.
But then I went through seven intense weeks of training where I learned how to handle emergencies at 35,000 feet where there are no hospitals, and possibly no doctors. I learned how to evacuate an entire aircraft in 90 seconds, how to deliver a baby, what to do if smoke fills the cabin and the closest diversion is still 20 minutes away. This just scratches the surface. But as passengers, we never see that side of things (hopefully), we just see these bright and cheery (most of the time) men and women in polyester suits pouring Cokes and showing us how to fasten our seatbelts.
So, I wanted to compile a list of the many, many reasons why becoming a Flight Attendant was one of the best choices I’ve made in my life to date. I could easily list 100+ reasons, but I’ll narrow it down and sum it up to just seven.
Reason #1 Why Being A Flight Attendant is a Kick-Ass Job: You Literally Travel Around the World on The Company’s Dime. Literally. My airline flies me across the country (with the agreement that I pour some drinks and avert any potential disasters) for free. They put me up in four-to-five star hotels. They give me a daily allowance for food. And they provide transportation to/from the airport. This is my typical work day. I generally fly between two-three flights per day, and then layover anywhere between 9.5-33 hours in any particular place. In the last seven months I’ve spent 29 hours in Montréal, 18 hours in San Antonio, 31 hours in Albany, 28 hours in Amsterdam, 25 hours in Narita, 25 hours in London, 32 hours in Charlottesville, 33 hours in Albuquerque, and on and on. And let me tell you, even 18 hours is more than enough to venture out into a city you’ve never been a get a small taste of it.
Reason #2 Why Being a Flight Attendant is a Kick-Ass Job: Whenever You Aren’t Working You Still Get to Travel for Free or Cheap. That’s right. On my off days I’m visiting friends in Spokane, or Salt Lake, or Denver. I’m visiting family in Phoenix. I’m taking a week to go to Hong Kong or Thailand. My boyfriend and I have been dredging through this temporary long-distance relationship, but it’s hardly long-distance because on my off days I can hop on a plane for a couple hours to see him, even if it’s only for 24 hours or less. And that whole Thailand trip? Yeah. Cost me $78 roundtrip. You can hate me now, I won’t blame you.
Reason #3 Why Being a Flight Attendant is a Kick-Ass Job: One Word–Flexibility. I receive a schedule every month like most hourly workers. However, unlike most hourly workers, some months I’ll have 18 days off, other months I’ll have 12 days off, but consistently I’m scheduled to work 14-16 days per month. That means I have 14-17 days off. I can drop trips, pick-up trips, or swap for any trips that fit my schedule. In the month of January I dropped all of my trips. Which, (if I wanted to be poor) I could have kept and only worked nine days out of the whole month. But I got bills to pay, yo, so I picked up a few trips with some layovers that looked fun. And if I don’t want to work them, chances are I can find somebody else who does.
Reason #4 Why Being a Flight Attendant is a Kick-Ass Job: The People. I feel it goes without saying that this point can be both a pro and a con. But let’s focus on the positive. The people I came into contact with on a daily basis are travelers. They are going from point A to point B. They’re going for business or pleasure or family. My passengers are contractors and lawyers and mothers and vagabonds. They have stories about traveling through South America, and building their way up from the bottom, and founding non-profits in China. They’re excited about where they’re going and they’re sad to be going home. Sometimes they’re having a day where everything is going wrong, and sometimes everything’s going so right that they tip me for letting them borrow my pen. They keep me on my toes and they keep my job interesting. Yes, I am thankful for my passengers. (Even the crazy ones.)
Reason #5 Why Being a Flight Attendant is a Kick-Ass Job: It’s. So. Easy. Really. It is. It involves a lot of smiling, and a lot of small talk. It involves knowing how to open a can of Coca-Cola and teeny-tiny bottles of liquor. It involves thinking on your toes and solving problems at a moment’s notice. It involves creativity and patience. And in the worst-case scenario it will involve life-saving procedures and complete savviness. But that event is so unlikely. I spend my time during take-off and landing reviewing our safety procedures, but the rest of the time I’m genuinely enjoying my job because it’s all temporary. We’re all just hanging out on a metal tube hurtling through the sky at 500mph for a couple hours and then we’ll all go our separate ways. Ain’t no thang.
Reason #6 Why Being a Flight Attendant is a Kick-Ass Job: You Don’t Take Work Home With You. When I’m released I’m released. I’m not thinking about what I have to get done before I go back to work. I’m not thinking about how I don’t want to see this person or that person tomorrow (mostly because I rarely fly with the same people twice). I’m doing nothing on my time off, except enjoying my time off. It allows me to pursue some of my other interests like writing and skiing and sleeping-in. 😉
Reason #7 Why Being a Flight Attendant is a Kick-Ass Job: Everyday Is Different. I know to some people this sounds like a death sentence, and I get it. I have friends who adhere to routine as if it were their lifeline. Hats off to you, you help balance the world with people like me who need consistent inconsistency. With my job I’m never getting up at the same time everyday, which means I also don’t get off work at the same time everyday. I’m never working with the same people. I’m not ever even in the same place. One night I’m on the West Coast, the next I’m in Canada. It’s literally a constant, ever-changing adventure, and I wouldn’t dare change it because it gives me the world.
So there you go. Seven reasons why being a Flight Attendant is a kick-ass job. Have I convinced you? I hope so, because once you’re hired I get to move up on the seniority list 😉
Until next time-
The Frequent Foreigner 