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.