Can you make a good living being a flight attendant?
I want to buy a big house and a nice car #airline-industry #flight-attendant
3 answers
Jeffrey’s Answer
Becoming a flight attendant is a 24/7 career. I would say, at this point, it is ok to say you want to be a flight attendant to buy a nice home and car. As with any job the nice home and car will become a reality the longer you are employeed with the company, or airline, who hires you. I dedicated my career to Delta Airlines and I was rewarded many times over for giving 120% to Delta Airlines. I worked very hard to gain a trusted reputation and over the years Delta Airlines assisted in my graduating with a BBA, I do live in a lovely home and drive a Mercedes and a cute VW convertible ( paid off.) Please make sure you want to become a flight attendant for all the right reasons. In the beginning stages as a flight attendant you will work long hours, you will be on call, you will be away from home for two and three days at a time and the flying hours per day can be long. Also, fight cancelations, weather delays, no - show factors and upset passengers on board. Do as much research on becoming a flight attendant as possible, Books - A - Million has a section devoted to becoming a flight attendant. If you are in school, or perhaps not, learn a second language because most airlines hire flight attendants who speak two languages. Focus on your career and the beautiful home and car will come along down the line. Be t he best you can be and if becoming a flight attendant is your dream career than I say " Good luck and always remember that safety is the number one goal of any flight attendant, also, be yourself! "
Dr’s Answer
Yes, most certainly you can afford a big house and a nice car being a flight attendant. I can speak from experience. However, in regards to a big house, this will depend on two other factors.
First, you will probably not be able to afford a big house in an expensive city solely on a flight attendant's salary. You will most likely need to live in a more affordable city or in a suburb of a larger city. It's still not impossible, just not probable. You could, however, get a really nice apartment in a somewhat expensive city, if that's what you want.
The second factor, as the other flight attendants mentioned, depends on how long you have worked as a flight attendant for a particular airline. This is called "seniority" and it is important in the airline industry. The longer you work for an airline, the more "senior" you get in the rankings compared to all the other flight attendants (assuming that the older ones are retiring and new ones are being hired). The longer you stay with an airline as a flight attendant, you will get better trips, get more vacation and of course get paid more.
The starting salary for flight attendants is generally not bad but it does vary per airline. You can do an internet search regarding this. However, if you stay with it and build your seniority within a single airline, you can earn over $100,000 a year as a flight attendant. I have many friends who do! If you think about that, that's earning a million dollars over 10 years. Does that answer your question?
However, as Jeffrey and Aftab mentioned, there are many other benefits as well as challenges with this job. You should not do it just for the goal of getting a big house and a nice car. In fact, why invest in those things if you won't be home much because you're out flying around? As you get older, your goals will likely evolve and change. And I think flight attending, with all its opportunities, can accommodate mostly all your goals in the long run.
It's not just a "good" living, but being a flight attendant can be a GREAT living because it makes good money AND provides many freedoms & opportunities that factor into your overall quality of life.
Hope this helps and hope to see you in the sky!
Aftab’s Answer
Thanks for reaching out to me and i cannot be more happy as I try to guide younger people like yourself.
In my own experience, I found the Flight crew member career very rewarding. The flying career provides you a unique chance to meet different people from different cultures, open up your mind, personal growth opportunities, visit different countries and stay at good hotels on company's expense and learn discipline in life and fly with different crew members each time.
Apart from personal development, you end up making good money as you move up in seniority.
While I stayed at flight deck for all these years but I did see so many young people join airline as stewards and stewardesses and grow confident in their work and serve and manage the traveling passengers in the aircraft cabin.
Minimum education level is perhaps tenth grade but your spoken language skills should be out standing and should have an attractive personality. The job will require you to show up for duty in timely fashion regardless of the day or night hours and stay in good health. You should have leadership skills to do well in this job. Good luck.