Pros and Cons of Working as a Flight Attendant

You think about becoming a flight attendant but want to get additional information on salaries, job prospects, working hours, job satisfaction, educational requirements and much more?

Great! Stick with me since I will show you all the pros and cons of being a flight attendant in the following chapters.

Flight Attendant Job Profile

Advantages of Being a Stewardess

1. Flight attendants can travel the world
2. You can see many different countries
3. You can experience many different cultures as a stewardess
4. You can see the world from a different perspective
5. Most flight attendants never get bored
6. Many of your friends will envy you
7. You can visit major cities for free
8. You can work indoors most of the time
9. Flight attendants don’t have to work in a hard physical manner
10. Your risk of accidents at work is relatively low
11. You can work with many different people
12. You may be able to build a strong network of people
13. You do an important job to keep air travel safe
14. Working as a stewardess is not extremely stressful
15. Risk of burnout is rather low
16. You can stay fit at work
17. Flight attendants are in high demand
18. Decent future outlook for flight attendants
19. Hard to replace flight attendants with digital machines
20. Flight attendant may be a good job if you are single

Flight attendants can travel the world

One advantage of being a flight attendant is that you can travel the world on a regular basis and can see many exciting places most other people would never get to.

In turn, you can make your life as a flight attendant pretty interesting and can experience much more compared to the average person who just sits in the same office all day long.

You can see many different countries

Since you can travel the world, you can also see many different countries and this can not only be quite interesting but it also allows you to live many different lifestyles and you may also get some inspiration in case you don’t want to live in your home country forever and search for alternatives in this regard.

You can experience many different cultures as a stewardess

Since you can visit many countries and talk to many interesting people, you can also experience many different cultures and can also try many different foods.

In turn, you can really experience how other people all around the world spend their lives and can learn a lot for your own life.

You can see the world from a different perspective

Since you will experience so many new things, you can also adapt positive characteristics and you can just grow as a character in the long run since you will realize how relative life really is and chances are that you will also become a more tolerant person.

Most flight attendants never get bored

Thanks to the many new and exciting things you can experience as a stewardess, chances are that you will also never get bored with what you are doing and many flight attendants can’t wait until the next flight begins.

Many of your friends will envy you

Since working as a flight attendant is still considered a dream job by many people out there, chances are that your friends will really envy you and you will therefore have a pretty high social standing among your circle of friends.

You can visit major cities for free

Another upside to becoming a stewardess is that you can also travel to many fancy places for free.

Not only will you be able to use planes for free, but you will also get paid all the stays in nice hotels necessary to do your job as a flight attendant and you can therefore enjoy yourself quite a lot during work while most other people have to spend lots of money of having this experience.

You can work indoors most of the time

While garbage collectors and many other people have to work outdoors during times of bad weather, you will be working indoors as a flight attendant and can spend your workday in a much more convenient manner.

Flight attendants don’t have to work in a hard physical manner

While you will have to hand out drinks and food and have to work with your hands on a regular basis, you will still not have to lift really heavy stuff compared to tilers and other people who often have to lift heavy things on various occasions of their workday.

Your risk of accidents at work is relatively low

Since air travel is a pretty safe business, your risk of suffering from serious accidents at work will be relatively low compared to police officers or other people who will be at much greater risk of losing their lives at work in the long run.

You can work with many different people

Flight attendants can also meet many different people and can also talk to many passengers which can make their life at work pretty interesting since they can learn quite a lot from these conversations.

You may be able to build a strong network of people

Since you will have the chance to talk to so many new people, you can also build a strong network of people if you know how to do it properly and you may really be able to benefit from this network in the long run.

You do an important job to keep air travel safe

Another benefit of working as a flight attendant is that you will also do an important job for society since you will keep air travel safe and can minimize the risk that passengers get hurt inside the plane and also make sure that they have a really great experience onboard.

Working as a stewardess is not extremely stressful

While you will sometimes have to deal with difficult passengers and also have busy times where you have to get lots of work done, you will still not have high stress levels on a continuous basis and will also have time to take breaks to reload your batteries.

Risk of burnout is rather low

Since being a flight attendant is not very stressful, you will also be at rather low risk of suffering from burnout compared to people working in private equity or other people who have to work long hours with lots of stress on a daily basis.

You can stay fit at work

Since you will get some exercise and have to work in a physical manner, you will also have an easier time staying fit at work compared to financial analysts or other people who just work in classical office environments and sit in office chairs all day long.

Flight attendants are in high demand

Another advantage of working as a stewardess is that flight attendants are in high demand right now and it is therefore relatively easy to find a job all over the world.

Decent future outlook for flight attendants

Not only will you have decent job prospects right now, but flight attendants will also be needed for many years to come since the number of air travel passengers will likely continue to go up even further.

Hard to replace flight attendants with digital machines

Flight attendants are also almost impossible to replace by intelligent machines and while many jobs in other industries will be lost in this regard in the future, you will not have to worry as a flight attendant in this regard.

Flight attendant may be a good job if you are single

Being a flight attendant can also be great in case you are single right now and don’t have to provide for your family.

In such a case, you can travel to many interesting places and can really make nice memories before you finally fall in love and settle down.

Now that you know all the upsides to working as a flight attendant, we also have to talk about all the drawbacks of a flight attendant career so that you are better able to decide whether you still want to become a flight attendant or rather want to work in a different field.

Disadvantages of Working as a Flight Attendant

1. Flight attendants are away from home quite often
2. You will not see your kids often
3. Your partner may start cheating on you
4. You have to work on weekends
5. Stewardesses have to work during nighttime
6. Your natural sleeping pattern may get destroyed
7. Flight attendants often don’t make really good money
8. Stewardesses may not be able to save enough for retirement
9. You may not be able to afford lots of luxury
10. You have to be flexible as a flight attendant
11. Some passengers are just difficult
12. You don’t have a really high social standing as a stewardess
13. You have to deal with rumors regarding affairs at work
14. Limited promotion opportunities for flight attendants
15. Flight attendants can’t work remotely
16. You can’t start your own business as a stewardess
17. Time pressure can be a problem
18. You may have to get lots of schooling
19. Not a good job if you suffer from fear of flying
20. Processes are rather standardized
21. There will not be much room for creativity
22. Hard to make a real impact on society
23. Jet lag can be annoying

Flight attendants are away from home quite often

One problem with being a flight attendant is that you will have to travel quite a lot and will be away from home quite often which makes it hard for you to spend time with your loved ones as often as you might wish.

You will not see your kids often

If you have kids, working as a flight attendant can also be quite annoying since you will not be able to see your kids grow up much since you will be away all the time and you may regret that in your later years.

Your partner may start cheating on you

Since you will be away from home quite often, you may also lose the emotional connection with your partner and your spouse may therefore cheat on you sooner or later.

You have to work on weekends

Another downside to being a flight attendant is that you also have to work on weekends quite often and will have a pretty exotic schedule in general which makes it hard for you to relax since your natural rhythm may be adversely affected quite a lot.

Stewardesses have to work during nighttime

Not only do you have to work on weekends, but you also have to work during nighttime as a stewardess and this can be mentally as well as physically demanding since our bodies are not used to working exotic hours and you may therefore get pretty tired with your job in the long run.

Your natural sleeping pattern may get destroyed

Since you will have to work at nighttime, also your natural sleeping pattern may get destroyed sooner or later and if you don’t get enough sleep, you may suffer from all sorts of health problems sooner or later.

Flight attendants often don’t make really good money

Another disadvantage of working as a flight attendant is that you will just not make really good money and if you compare yourself to your friends who might go to college and work in a fancy position later on, you may get really frustrated with your own pay.

Stewardesses may not be able to save enough for retirement

Since you don’t make great money as a stewardess, you will also have a rather hard time saving and investing enough money for retirement and may get into serious financial problems once you get older and have to quit your active career.

You may not be able to afford lots of luxury

Due to your low salary, you will also not be able to afford many nice things and you may also have a rather hard time providing for your family as a steward.

You have to be flexible as a flight attendant

You should also know that your schedule will change quite a lot and that you will have to be quite flexible as a flight attendant since you will never know when flights are canceled and whether they are late or not before those things happen.

Some passengers are just difficult

Another problem with becoming a flight attendant is that passengers can be difficult and you may therefore get into many unpleasant discussions and may really get fed up with those people who may try to bring you down in the long run.

You don’t have a really high social standing as a stewardess

While you will do an important job for society, you will still have a rather low social standing compared to judges or other people who are admired by more people out there.

You have to deal with rumors regarding affairs at work

Since affairs at work are pretty common in the air travel industry, you may also have to deal with many rumors in this regard even if you are not guilty and don’t have affairs at work at all and this may become really annoying in the long run.

Limited promotion opportunities for flight attendants

You should also keep in mind that you will have rather poor promotion opportunities as a flight attendant and while your friends may climb the corporate ladder, you may get stuck in your position and may get really frustrated due to that in the long run.

Flight attendants can’t work remotely

You also have to be present at your workplace in person and can’t work remotely as many other people who work in classical office jobs and you may therefore have a harder time managing your professional and your private life at the same time.

You can’t start your own business as a stewardess

As a stewardess, it is also almost impossible to start your own business and if you want to work self-employed in the long run, you should rather become a digital marketer or learn other skills that make it much easier to make your goal.

Time pressure can be a problem

You should also know that you will have a rather short time window when you can distribute drinks, foods and other things, especially on short flights when aviation times are pretty low.

Thus, you will also have to deal with some time pressure and have to develop an efficient routine to get your tasks done in time.

You may have to get lots of schooling

While you don’t need a fancy college degree for becoming a flight attendant most of the time, you still have to get some schooling before you can work in this field and this means that you have to make a certain financial commitment before you can start making money.

Not a good job if you suffer from fear of flying

You should also not become a flight attendant if you suffer from fear of flying since you would have to worry at work all day long and would just not get happy with what you are doing in the long run.

Processes are rather standardized

You should also know that processes in the air travel industry are pretty standardized and that you will therefore do many repetitive tasks over and over again.

There will not be much room for creativity

Since tasks are pretty repetitive, you will also not have lots of room for creativity during your workday as a flight attendant and may not get happy with your job in the long run.

Hard to make a real impact on society

While you can make many people happy, you will still not have the same high positive social impact as teachers and other people who can really alter the thought process of many people on a daily basis.

Jet lag can be annoying

You should also keep in mind that you will have to deal with jet lag quite often and may therefore suffer from headaches and other unpleasant symptoms on a regular basis.

Top 10 Being a Stewardess Pros & Cons – Summary List

Should You Become A Flight Attendant?

While flight attendants can travel the world and can experience many different countries and cultures, they also don’t make really good money and are away from home quite often which makes it hard for them to spend enough time with their family.

In the end, it is on you to evaluate all the pros and cons of being a stewardess so that you can better decide whether you still want to work as a flight attendant or rather want to work in a different field.

If you come to the conclusion that a stewardess career is not for you, you may also want to check out the following articles:

Advantages and disadvantages of becoming a brewer

Advantages and disadvantages of becoming a driving instructor

Advantages and disadvantages of becoming a trucker

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_attendant

https://www.statista.com/statistics/918867/aviation-industry-number-of-flight-attendants-in-the-united-states/

Own research and interviews.

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people about the different career paths that are possible in our current state of the world.

In my opinion, people often make the mistake to choose their profession solely based on how much money they can earn from it instead of doing what makes them really happy.

This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of what a fulfilling career could look like.

I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Master’s degree in Economics.

However, I’ve quit pretty soon after that since I haven’t found true meaning in my job.

Now I can do what I really love to do and I want to enable as many other people as well to go this exciting path towards happiness instead of money.

I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice.

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