Flight attendant: A guide to starting your career

If you’re fond of traveling around the world without spending your savings, then a flight attendant job is perfect for you. While pursuing your passion, you can easily travel to incredible countries. How amazing, right?

As a flight attendant, you can work for both private as well as commercial airlines. Your job is to keep the passengers comfortable by guiding them through the basics. Besides getting them seated, it would help to be instructed about the flight’s safety equipment and serve them food and drinks.

Other Flight Responsibilities:

Other than serving food and drinks, a flight attendant does a lot more. Here are some responsibilities administered to the flight attendants:

• Appearing in the pre-flight briefings before every flight.
• Assure that the cabin is stocked with necessary food items and drinks.
• Prepare the passengers for take-off and landing.
• Assisting passengers with little kids, special needs, and medical assistance.
• Monitoring any suspicious behavior among the passengers.
• Helping passengers with safety equipment and guiding evacuations.

These are some primary responsibilities of a flight attendant. So, before stepping in and choosing this as your career path, make sure you know your fundamental duties.

Requirements to Become a Flight Attendant:

Let’s discuss the requirements of a flight attendant.

Basic Requirements:

To pursue a flight attendant career, you need to be at least 18 years old and have a current passport. Other than this 20/40 vision, clear background and drug tests are also compulsory. It is significant to have a professional appearance and the ability to provide incredible customer service. Lastly, a medical examination is also conducted to meet the airline’s height requirements.

Educational Background:

Other than the basic requirements, it would help if you had a high-school diploma and a bachelor’s degree. You can also enroll in a flight attendant school and sign up for additional foreign language courses to work on international flights.

Training:

To gain professional customer service skills, you might need one or two-year work experience. After being hired as a flight attendant, it is crucial to participate in the airlines’ three weeks to six-month training programs. This training is mandatory to learn emergency procedures, flight regulations, job training, and first aid. After the training is completed, you are certified by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), which allows you to work with multiple airlines.

Certifications:

Any one of the following credentials is necessary to work as a flight attendant.

Flight Attendant Certificate Courses:

Inflight Institute offers distinctive certification programs for regional, national, charter, or international flights. The airlines require the attendants to sign-up for these online courses and learn about an array of aviation terminology and safety measures before applying for a job.

Federal Aviation Administration Certification:

To attain this certificate, you need to complete on-job training and pass the exam. For this, flight attendants need to train for different types of aircraft and airlines. To stay certified, activity after every year or so is significant as well.

Flight Attendant’s Salary:

The question most of the people are often concerned with;

“What is a flight attendant’s salary?”

Every airline needs a flight attendant, but airlines are looking for qualified candidates even with dire needs. The salaries of the flight attendants mainly depend on the degrees and work experience of the candidates.

The expected salary of an attendant is almost $25.61 per hour. However, the salaries range from $7.25 to $42.50 per hour.

Skills you need to become a Professional Flight Attendant:

You have probably opted for this field because you’re good at socializing and love traveling. But other than this, there are some skills you need to have.

Attention to Detail:

Flight attendants should be able to monitor the passenger’s issues and observe any suspicious activity. Other than this, conducting safety checks on equipment is also necessary to avoid any hassle.

Good Communication Skills:

To succeed as a flight attendant, communication is the key. You should be able to speak different languages and convey your message clearly and confidently.

Excellent Customer Service:

The main job of a flight attendant is to provide excellent customer service. Keeping care of the passenger’s food and drinks and making them feel welcomed and comfortable is something you should be an expert in.

Stamina and Efficiency:

Flight attendants work for long hours and take action against challenging passengers. Moreover, carrying heavy service carts and luggage is also a part of their duty. Thus efficiency and stamina are necessary.

Bottom-Line:

The job of flight attendants is quite appealing. No higher education and bundles of degrees, a bonus of traveling for free, and socializing with people – all of this is a part of a flight attendant’s job. However, the career path can be a little challenging.

This article has thoroughly discussed the different steps you need to accomplish to become a successful flight attendant. Hope you’ll find this helpful.