Become A Flight Attendant
Becoming a flight attendant is no walk in the park. You will need to hold at least a 1 year degree and have experience working in the nutrition field. Most flight attendants receive around $18-$32 per hour, depending on their experience, skill set, and industry specific factors like location. For this reason it is imperative you are clear on your future aspirations to know if this career path is right for you. Flight attendants can earn up to $100k annually but salary will differ significantly depending on your education level, experience level and position within the company or airport you work for.
There is a lot of unsolicited advice in the travel industry. Along with all of the positive feedback, there are always negative opinions from those who have no idea what they are talking about. Knowing what you read is imperative when trying to make wise decisions for your future and for those around you. There are many misconceptions about flight attendants and money. The following list details several common misconceptions people have about their careers as a flight attendant:
1) Flight attendants only make $18-$30 per hour.
This is probably the biggest misconception people have about this career. This is usually due to the fact that most people only consider salary when determining job satisfaction. However, if you take into consideration benefits, bonuses and vacation time— flight attendants can make over $50,000 annually. And if you have good skills and abilities, entry level flight attendants can make more than $100k per year. The key to making more is the ability to gain skills like foreign languages and foreign country specific experience which will increase your value in the industry. Also, it's important to join a union of flight attendants because they will help negotiate higher pay for you and your colleagues when contract negotiation time comes around.
2) Flight attendants are not trained.
Flight attendants are trained in the same way as any other profession. Some airlines require 1 year of language training and about 6 to 12 months of hands-on training for certain positions like pilots. However, flight attendants, like all other occupations, can be trained on the job. This allows you to gain knowledge on a primary skill and practice that skill over time until it becomes second nature to you.
3) Flight attendants don't have a life outside of work – they have no hobbies or interests outside of their job
There is no doubt that working in the airline industry can take over your life. Most flight attendants do not work part-time because they cannot afford to. If you only work part time, you will be unable to save money, pay your bills and live comfortably. The vast majority of full time flight attendants have minimum lives outside of their job (other than family and friends). They generally don't have hobbies outside of flying which is not a bad thing. To the contrary, this shows their passion for their job which usually translates into satisfied customers and further success in the airline industry.
4) Compensation is based solely on seniority
Most airlines use a seniority system when assigning crew to flights. This means that all crew members begin at the bottom, move up the ranks by doing a job well and moving up the pay scale. This is approximately how it works in most industries such as banking, teaching and hospitals. There are exceptions, of course, to this rule. However, since flight attendants are unionized at many airlines like US Airways, Delta and United , they have the ability to negotiate a lot more than just their pay rate (e.g., promos, vacation change, etc.). It is important to understand the basics of your seniority system and understand where you stand.
5) Flight attendants are entitled and don't do hard work
Flight attendants are generally considered highly entitled. This is not strictly a flight attendant issue, it's true of other industries as well (e.g., bankers, artists, etc.). It is true that many flight attendants feel like they deserve more than they are being paid for their skills and unfortunately this translates into laziness which can be a big turn off for customers in the long run. However, if you look around most flight attendants actually work harder than most people on earth due to the multitude of tasks they must complete every single day while in the air. It is also true that if you are entering into an industry you know nothing about, it's important to do your homework, work hard and ask questions. The worst thing someone can do when they are starting a new career is be lazy or entitled.
6) All flight attendants have the same pay scale
Different airlines have different pay scales and most flight attendants get paid differently for different reasons (e.g., seniority, experience level, etc.). It is wise to research what your airline's pay scale is on their website. Talk to a representative of the airline for more information and/or consider talking to current flight attendants at that airline for more insight. In some instances pay differences can be interesting and a good thing. For example, Delta pays their flight attendants better than other airlines because they know that their employees are very happy and work hard to provide excellent customer service. Flight attendants in more senior positions are more likely to give a discount to customers if they have time to help with baggage or have a higher level of customer care experience.
7) A flight attendant can't make more than the CEO of a major airline
In recent years many CEOs have been making over $10 million per year, but this is not true of all CEOs. There are many CEOs who make significantly less than their competitors at other airlines (though yes, there are some that make more than others). Only a small percentage of CEOs are making over $10 million, but they are all working hard to earn this money and deserve their pay. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
8) Flight attendants are exploited by the airline industry
The airline industry is notorious for exploiting it's employees. They do this through unfair and often illegal practices (lack of benefits, lack of sleep and personal support, lack of pay raises/bonuses, etc.). However, these are all things which can be changed. These types of issues could be solved if flight attendants organized to get better wages and benefits from the airlines (like everyone else). It's not a coincidence that airlines have problems with labor and wages at the moment.
9) A flight attendant is always late
This one is true, but it depends on how you measure it. If you are late by 15 or 20 minutes, there's no problem at all. If you are lateness is 45 minutes to two hours, this could be a bit of an issue.
Conclusion
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How Does a Flight Attendant Make Money? Has anyone ever told you that being a flight attendant is easy? Well, first off, reading this was probably not easy for you. It's important to know that flight attendants have one of the most difficult jobs in the world. They have to deal with people all day long and must carry out certain duties with no sleep as well as doing their job as smoothly as possible. There are also many different aspects of the job which are sometimes hard to accomplish at the same time. This can lead to some confusion and frustration, but there are ways you can make money as a flight attendant if you need additional income.