The people
When your office is a tiny tube hurtling through the atmosphere, you meet many different kinds of people. The experiences can range from being infuriating to being some of the best interactions you will ever have. When I was on my IOE ( an glamourinitial operating experience which is basically your first time up in the air and you have an instructor who shows you the ropes), my instructor was required to let the passengers know that I was conducting my initial operating experience. At the end of the flight, I had passengers I hadn’t even served congratulate me and tell me that I did a great job.
The thrill
I have a job where I can mentally say “whee!” as we take off to fly in the sky, and then as I serve people or do safety checks, I get to look out the window and see the sky and everything below me. I’ll never forget, the first time I ever saw mountains was on my IOE coming into Denver. From a plane. Pretty cool!
The glamour
There is a certain elemglamorwhen your walk through the airport in your uniform, primarily because when you finally get to put your uniform on for the first time, you’ve earned it. Flight Attendant training is long, and hard, and just downright stressful. When you graduate however, and you get to wear your uniform and get your wings pinned on, you realize it was all worth it
The responsibility
I enjoy being able to take responsibility for the lives of everyone in my aircraft. If there was an emergency, the cabin crew is trained and prepared for it. Flight Attendant training is almost all safety. We touched on service once or twice in the seven weeks I was there but that was it. I love knowing that I am trained and capable of keeping my passengers safe.
Wanderlust
Sleeping in a different hotel every night can get tiring, but a few nights a week, I can leave everything behind and fly to a different part of the country and have a nice hotel room to myself. I have also been to cities I would have never gotten the chance to if I had been sitting in a cubical.
NOT a 9 to 5
There is nothing wrong with 9 to 5 jobs. They are just not for everyone. For someone like me who cannot stand to do the same thing all the time, this career is perfect for me. I am never on a set schedule and every day is different. I never know what to expect, and I love it!
Travelling is a breeze
You get to be very familiar with airports and airport procedures after a while. You will see passengers very upset and stressed by the time they get to your plane, but the crew that are riding as passengers are always really calm. They know the drill, and it’s just routine for them. Also the travel benefits and the ability to jump on a plane and go somewhere is definitely a bonus.
It gets in your blood
You will hear this saying time and time again from any cabin crew-member and I can once again say that it’s true. And a saying from Leonardo da Vinci sums it up perfectly:“For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.”
