When I first went to flight attendant school (“The Charm Farm,” as they called it) I remember them telling us that we were about to join the best kept secret career in the universe. I didn’t understand what they meant until I actually started the job, and dipped my feet into the world of being a flight attendant. Since then, I have found that there are one million and one reasons why this is the best job out there, but today I will just give you my personal top eight.
1) Your life is basically a vacation. Sure… there is work involved just like every other job, but at the end of the day, you are usually somewhere new and exciting. In just the past week I spent time in Orlando, Seattle, and Philadelphia. They were all long layovers so I actually had time to relax and explore. I laid my little butt out by the pool in Orlando, went to a famous market in Seattle, and saw the Liberty Bell in Philly. Not bad for a week of work.
2) You leave your work at the aircraft door. This is one of my favorite things about this job. I don’t have to take it with me when I leave. When I am off work, I am OFF work. I don’t think about it at all, and that is how I prefer it.
3) When you join an airline, you join a family. This is a very weird thing to try and explain, but the camaraderie of the airline industry is out of this world. When I go to work, I am almost 99% sure that I am going to work with all new people. There are over 8,000 flight attendants in the base that I am assigned, so working with the same people just never happens. Every time I start a new trip, I start with a new crew. And every time I leave a trip, I have made incredible new friends.
4) It is easy to take pride in your work. I had always thought that a flight attendant’s main job was to give the passengers drinks. I know how shameful that sounds but it is the honest truth. When I actually got the job I realized the importance of a flight attendant. Actually, drinks are just a plus because my job is to ensure that all of the passengers and crew get to their destinations safely. It’s pretty easy to believe that I am there just to mix you a fabulous bloody mary, but my main concern is for safety. It is easy to take pride in my work because I know that I am responsible for the safety and well-being of typically over one hundred people.
5) The benefits are to die for. And I am not talking about the boring stuff like medical benefits (though we have those too!). I am talking about the fact that if I wanted to stop writing and take an impromptu flight to Martha’s Vinyard, I could totally do that.
6) You can pretty live wherever you want and still have a job as a flight attendant. It’s a huge myth that you have to live in your base (Base: the city you are assigned to fly out of). I live in base because for me it just works better, but I know people that are based in Philadelphia and live in Jerusalem. Now how is that for a commute!!?
7) You will have new adventures every. single. day. I have become a hiker, learned how to shoot oysters, and been asked out by a Latin reggaeton pop star since starting this job. It is anything but a boring lifestyle, and I guarantee you will not regret a single experience. It’s like life on steroids. Everything is bigger, brighter, and more fun, and I am not exaggerating.
8) Why not? The usual response that people have when I say that I am a flight attendant is, “Oh my gosh I have always wanted to do that!” So my response is: just do it! Take the risk and apply, because it IS one of the best-kept secrets in the job industry and I promise you, you will not regret it.
Click the link below if you want to take the very first step in your own adventure!
http://www.flightattendantcareer.com/hiring_info.htm
Happy flying!
xoxo
Megan Marie
