Career Path Question...

[Capt10Matt]

Gotta question that hopefully someone can school me on. I know this sounds really simplistic but being on the pilots side of things I have no idea how it works on the FA's side.

Anyways, recently a friend of mine has begun applying for a job as a flight attendant with United. She has absolutely no experience whatsoever in this position. My thoughts are that you have to start at a smaller regional airline before you can even consider applying at something like United...sort of similar to the pilot route.

Anyways I hope someone would be able to explain what the career path and stepping stones (if any) are required.

Thanks

 

[MQAAord]

To be a flight attendant at a major does not require any previous flight attendant experience. It certainly is helpful, but is not a requirement.

What she does need is front line customer service experience. This can be had in many ways, such as retail, hotel front desk, or restaurant waitressing/hostessing. The interviewers want to hear stories of how applicants have dealt with people. How has the applicant used their customer service experience to solve problems, be sure to tell your friend to have specific examples ready to tell of how she's dealt with people.

 

[cwe84]

They like limited knowledge of the airline biz so that training (such as commands, procedures,etc) is easier to grasp and that talking about what happened at my last airline doesn't happen so much. UA is a great starting point...

 

[800Dog]

Anyways I hope someone would be able to explain what the career path and stepping stones (if any) are required.

Thanks

You are kidding, right?

 

[pgcfii2002]

Is she hot?

 

[cwe84]

You are kidding, right?

We know you don't respect the Flight Attendants, but there are stepping stones that we go through as well. Have you ever had a conversation about career goals with your F/A's? At RAH I can tell you we are a highly educated group. I am working on my masters. I also plan to pursue my doctorate. I know of six F/A's who have doctorates, twenty who have masters, thirty or more that are RN's, a few nurse practitioners and countless others. So if you think that all F/A's are flight deck floozies you are sorely mistaken.

 

[Slice121]

We know you don't respect the Flight Attendants, but there are stepping stones that we go through as well. Have you ever had a conversation about career goals with your F/A's? At RAH I can tell you we are a highly educated group. I am working on my masters. I also plan to pursue my doctorate. I know of six F/A's who have doctorates, twenty who have masters, thirty or more that are RN's, a few nurse practitioners and countless others. So if you think that all F/A's are flight deck floozies you are sorely mistaken.

No, but in general there's something wrong with a woman over 30 that stays in that job for any signifcant length of time, educated or not. JMO from 10 years of 121 experience, most(not all) lack motivation to do much else.

 

[CHQFA00]

................

 

[FlyUnited]

No, but in general there's something wrong with a woman over 30 that stays in that job for any signifcant length of time, educated or not. JMO from 10 years of 121 experience, most(not all) lack motivation to do much else.

Please explain why it is any different than why a pilot stays in it.

 

[Aviation Geek]

No, but in general there's something wrong with a woman over 30 that stays in that job for any signifcant length of time, educated or not. JMO from 10 years of 121 experience, most(not all) lack motivation to do much else.

No, but in general there's something wrong with a pilot with over 5000 hours that stays in that CRJ or B1900 job for any signifcant length of time. JMO from 7 years of 121 experience, most(not all) lack motivation or the ability to do much else.

Doofus.

 

[CHQFA00]

Slice 121 will figure it out if he ever gets into a "mainline" airline. I've worked the office job making good money. I rather make less money and be happy than to make more money stuck in a office. But I guess I'm wrong and there is somthing wrong with me.

 

[cruxx@9]

No, but in general there's something wrong with a pilot with over 5000 hours that stays in that CRJ or B1900 job for any signifcant length of time. JMO from 7 years of 121 experience, most(not all) lack motivation or the ability to do much else.

Doofus.

Now that's some funny sh*t. The real whores are in front of the door, if you haven't noticed. Flying for peanuts for what...a career? I should've stayed as the piano player in the cat house....I certainly made more money!

Anyway, there are some FA's that this is just a job. Some are just in transition looking for something fun to do along the way. Like us (the front end) they got into aviation because they thought they would go to see cool places, travel and it would be really cool! Then they realized that Jackass Flatts Nebraska in December wasn't really cool and travel consisted of o' dark thirty wake ups in NYC. Don't make enough money to use our really great travel benies. But they are availible. Just like us, we've been everywhere, but have really been no where. Hotels and concourses.

But just as us, aviation effects people. Some people anyway, it gets in our blood. We do it as a career with the hope that one day we'll make it. Like the Farm Team baseball player hoping to get to the real show. Most of us do, a lot us don't. The FA's won't see the money we do, but don't knock 'em for it. As you don't want to make more money sitting in an office. Niether do they. It get's in thier soul, it can be challenging and it does have it's rewards. If you talk to them, some of them are highly educated, they just got tired of whatever it was they were doing. Granted, there are the FA's that are space cadets and will only do this job for a short period of time and move on to something else. But for the one's that really love it....it is a career. And we are all the crew. Do some of them really P*ss me off...well yeah. But some of the captains do too. LOL I don't knock anyone for being here with us.

And of course....they love to hang out with guys like me!

LOL

 

[§kyye Candy]

careful...

...if you think that all F/A's are flight deck floozies you are sorely mistaken.

I'm a flight deck floosie.. and I'm not even an F/A.

Anyway, she has a point - how much $$$ are the guys/girls up front seeing these days? Might want to re-check your CBA before you say stuff like that.

Confucius say: sometimes it better to keep mouth shut than open it up and risk getting foot stuck inside.

 

[pgcfii2002]

I love women!

 

[A-Track]

There's only one career path, and it leads up and down the aisle.

 

[Galaxy]

My neighbor got on with UAL with no experience. She loves the job so far.

 

[Der Kommissar]

No, but in general there's something wrong with a woman over 30 that stays in that job for any signifcant length of time, educated or not. JMO from 10 years of 121 experience, most(not all) lack motivation to do much else.

(sigh) of course this comes from a "Viper" pilot. You give them 150nm in any one direction and they think they rule the world.

How is something "...in general... wrong with a woman over 30 that says in that job for any significant length of time, educated or not." ? What if it happens to be a man? Who the F cares if it's a man or a woman - or what their age is? If they enjoy the job what does it matter?

 

[hoover]

No, but in general there's something wrong with a woman over 30 that stays in that job for any signifcant length of time, educated or not. JMO from 10 years of 121 experience, most(not all) lack motivation to do much else.

I tend to agree. It's one thing to do it for a couple of years;to see the world, or just as a transition to the next thing. It's another thing to do it for a career. As a friend of mine once said "There are easier ways to starve to death." Quite frankly you can probably make more money tending bar or waiting tables, or for that matter, doing just about anything else. Why would anyone make a career out of pushing a trolley up and down the aisle?

I understand why pilots stay.They can make a good living, even at the smaller or regional airlines. It also provides a lot of personal satisfaction. I have a hard time believing that of the average Flight Attendant job.

Just my opinion. No doubt it will pi$$ somebody off.

 

[Der Kommissar]

Frau Kommissar is a flight attendant and makes a decent living. She's also involved with the Union and quite ejoys that. She likes the fact that she can fly to any one of a handfull of destinations, work with different people all the time, etc.

What's the big difference? Pilots and flight attendants are all part of the flight crew. Aside from takeoffs and landings you bus drivers in the front are just turning knobs. Don't get too high and mighty on yourselves. ...but I can understand how that is easier said than done with the prevalence of God Complexes up in the front.

Why *anyone* would work in the airline industry now baffles me. The companies treat everyone like crap, jobs are being outsourced, pensions are gone, employees are asked to give back ...etc, etc.

To each his own. If a person wants to be a flight attendant and they choose it as their career, who the hell are you as a pilot to tell them that they shouldn't?

...and who the hell gets you the coffee & food not to mention gives you the ability to get out of the cockpit and go to the restroom?

 

[cwe84]

We all have different reasons for working here. I could be making over $100K at KMPG but I turned them down as well as Credit Suisse and UBS. I do this job because I am happy at the end of the day and can go to sleep at night even if it is in a different city each night. I don't do it for the money, money is not everything. Loving life and making every second count , now thats everything.