Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz
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Flight Attendants
Flight Attendants monitor safety of the aircraft cabin. Provide services to airline passengers, explain safety information, serve food and beverages, and respond to emergency incidents.
Table of contents
What they do
Flight Attendants monitor safety of the aircraft cabin. Provide services to airline passengers, explain safety information, serve food and beverages, and respond to emergency incidents.
- Verify that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order.
- Direct and assist passengers in emergency procedures, such as evacuating a plane following an emergency landing.
- Administer first aid to passengers in distress.
- Announce and demonstrate safety and emergency procedures, such as the use of oxygen masks, seat belts, and life jackets.
Typical day
On a daily basis, Flight Attendants greet passengers boarding aircraft and direct them to assigned seats. They check to ensure that food, beverages, blankets, reading material, emergency equipment, and other supplies are aboard and are inadequate supply.
A typical day for a Flight Attendant will also include:
- Announce and demonstrate safety and emergency procedures, such as the use of oxygen masks, seat belts, and life jackets.
- Prepare passengers and aircraft for landing, following procedures.
- Conduct periodic trips through the cabin to ensure passenger comfort and to distribute reading material, headphones, pillows, playing cards, and blankets.
- Attend preflight briefings concerning weather, altitudes, routes, emergency procedures, crew coordination, lengths of flights, food and beverage services offered, and numbers of passengers.
- Verify that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order.
Other responsibilities
Besides their typical day, Flight Attendants also reassure passengers when situations, such as turbulence, are encountered. They may also heat and serve prepared foods.
On a weekly to monthly basis, Flight Attendants inspect passenger tickets to verify the information and to obtain destination information. They might also assist passengers entering or disembarking the aircraft.
In addition, they operate audio and video systems.
Although specific duties may vary, many of them announce flight delays and descent preparations.
To some Flight Attendants, it is also their responsibility to answer passengers’ questions about flights, aircraft, weather, travel routes and services, arrival times, or schedules.
Freedom to make decisions
How much decision making freedom does this job offer?
Structured vs unstructured work
To what extent is this job structured for you versus allowing you to determine your own tasks, priorities, and goals?
Featured Schools
What is the job like
Job satisfaction
Is this job meaningful
72% said they were satisfied with their job and 41% said they found their job meaningful.
I spent about five years working as a flight attendant and loved it (for the most part). Most of the training is safety-related (evacuations, medical situations, etc.), but the job itself is pretty easy. You’ve board the plane, do the safety demo, hand out snacks/drinks, collect trash, and relax the rest of the day. This … Read More
My name is Nicole Janowski and I work for a major US airline. As a reserve flight attendant, I get 3 hours’ notice when assigned to work on a flight. When I’m on call, crew scheduling can call at any time day or night. I’ll answer their call, confirm my trip details, and start to … Read More
Pros
Suitable for people who like to start and carry out projects.
Suitable for people who value relationships between co-workers and customers and want to work in a friendly non-competitive environment.
This career is perfect for people who love to work indoors.
It is not too difficult to get into this career. Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for this career.
Cons
Not suitable for people who like to solve problems mentally.
Salary is below average.
Demand for this career is declining.
How much do they make
Average salary
Average hourly wage
Entry-level Flight Attendants with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $30,930 to $43,080 per year or $* to $* per hour.
| Salary by experience | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Highest (Top 10%) | $84,790 | $* |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $71,550 | $* |
| Median | $59,050 | $* |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $43,080 | $* |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $30,930 | $* |
This table shows the top 10 highest paying industries for Flight Attendants based on their average annual salary.
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Nonscheduled Air Transportation | $59690 | $* |
| Scheduled Air Transportation | $59230 | $* |
| Support Activities for Air Transportation | $53480 | $* |
| Employment Services | $51560 | $* |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $ | $* |
View more salary by industries here.
Where can they work
Where can Flight Attendants work? Here is a table showing the top 10 largest employers of Flight Attendants including the average salary in that industry.
| Employers | Total Employed | Annual Salary | Hourly Wages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Air Transportation | 112450 | $59230 | $* |
| Nonscheduled Air Transportation | 1940 | $59690 | $* |
| Support Activities for Air Transportation | 1180 | $53480 | $* |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 40 | $ | $* |
| Employment Services | $51560 | $* |
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What is the work day like
Working hours
Working schedule
Work with group or team
How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
Deal with external customers
How important is it to work with customers in this job?
Manage or lead others
How important is it to coordinate or lead others in completing work activities in this job?
How often do you use email in this job?
Telephone
How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Group discussions
How often do you have group discussions in this job?
Public speaking
How often does this job require you to do public speaking?
Frequency of conflict situations
How often are there conflict situations in this job?
Dealing with angry people
How often do you have to deal with angry, unpleasant, or discourteous individuals in this job?
Dealing with physically aggressive people
How often do you have to deal with physically aggressive people in this job?
Level of competition
How much competitive pressure is in this job?
Repetition in this job
How important is repeating the same type of task over and over in this job?
Impact of decisions on co-workers or company results
What results do your decisions usually have on other people or the reputation or financial resources of your employer?
Frequency of decision making
How frequently do you have to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the reputation of the company?
Responsibility for others’ health and safety
How much responsibility is there for the health and safety of others in this job?
Responsibility for outcomes and results
How much responsibility is there for the work outcomes and results of other workers?
What is the work environment like
Office-style environment
Indoors in an environmentally controlled condition
Warehouse-style environment
Indoors in a non-controlled environmental condition such as a warehouse
Outdoors
Outdoors exposed to all weather conditions
Outdoors – Under Cover
Outdoors but under cover (e.g. structure with roof but no walls)
How to become one
Difficulty to become one
Required level of education
What level of education do you need to perform the job?
Relevant work experience
How much related work experience do you need to get hired for the job?
On The Job Training
How much on the job training do you need to perform the job?
Should you become one
Best personality type for this career
People with this personality likes to start and work on projects. They also like leading people and making many decisions.
People with The Builder personality type likes practical and hands-on work. They prefer working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
People with The Thinker personality likes to work with ideas that require an extensive amount of thinking. They prefer work that requires them to solve problems mentally.
People with The Artist personality likes to work with designs and patterns. They prefer activities that require self-expression and prefer work that can be done without following a clear set of rules.
People with The Helper personality type likes to work with people and in teams. They prefer work that allows them to build relationships with others.
People with The Leader personality likes to start and work on projects. They also like leading people and making many decisions.
People with The Organizer personality type likes to follow set procedures and routines. They prefer working with data and details more than with ideas.
You can read more about these career personality types here.
People who are suitable for this job tend to like starting up and carrying out projects. They like leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk-taking and often deal with business.
They also like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others.
Take this quiz to see if this is the right career for you.
Work Values
Which values are the most important to a person’s satisfaction for this job?
You are someone who is results oriented. You prefer work that allows you to utilize your skills and abilities while at the same time giving you a sense of accomplishment.
You are someone who values job security, steady employment, and good working conditions. You also prefer work that keeps you busy all the time with something different to do every day.
You are someone who values job advancement and leadership roles. You prefer work that receives recognition for the work you do and jobs that are looked up to by others in the company and your community.
You are someone who likes to provide a service to others. You prefer a work environment where you can work with your co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.
You are someone who values a company that stands behind their employees. You prefer a work environment where everyone is treated fairly and is being supported by the company.
You are someone who likes to work on your own and make your own decisions. You prefer work that requires little supervision and are allowed to try out your own ideas.
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