| Graduating from college? The sky is the limit | | | | kind of a supervisor or boss. Plus, working |
| | | | holidays may mean having a hotel room in |
| Attention college seniors: I am the voice of | | | | Times Square on New Year's Eve! |
| your not-so-distant future. I was once where | | | | |
| you are now, sweating and worrying about my | | | | Landing A Flight Attendant Job Is Difficult |
| future, forced to answer the never-ending | | | | |
| question from family and friends: "What are | | | | Landing a job at one of the major airlines is |
| you going to do when you graduate?" | | | | very tricky since the number of applicants |
| | | | far outweighs the number of positions. There |
| The Onset of Panic | | | | is good news though: most airlines are |
| | | | growing and hiring more flight attendants |
| I can relate. But you do not want sympathy; | | | | than ever. And a college degree does carry |
| you want advice. The best advice I can give | | | | weight. While no carrier I know of requires |
| you is to relax. You do not have to figure | | | | an applicant to have a degree, many of the |
| out the rest of your life in the next six | | | | flight attendants I know have undergraduate |
| months. You have a lifetime to sketch out | | | | degrees. A few have even pursued advanced |
| those dreaded career goals. In the meantime, | | | | degrees while continuing to fly. |
| take a job you can enjoy: teach in an | | | | |
| under-served school system, try your luck in | | | | Some airlines actually recruit on campus, |
| Hollywood, work your way across the world, or | | | | though many conduct open interview sessions |
| do as I did, and take to the skies -- become | | | | around the country. Consider applying if |
| a flight attendant. | | | | you've harbored that steward/ess dream since |
| | | | your first plane ride, or if the job sounds |
| Peace Corps Volunteer or Flight Attendant? | | | | fun and you do not know what else you'd like |
| | | | to do. If you are headed to grad school but |
| I joined the "real world" just over a year | | | | want a break or need to save some money, |
| ago, after four unfocused years of college. | | | | think about deferring. Airlines do not |
| The flexibility of my psychology major | | | | require minimum commitments; you can fly for |
| allowed me to explore my many interests, from | | | | a month, a year, or 30 years. If you only |
| Latin-American music to the social | | | | want to fly temporarily or decide it is not |
| constructions of health. I studied abroad for | | | | for you, no problem. You are not locked in. |
| a year, wrote for the college newspaper and | | | | JFK-based JetBlue even designed a limited |
| conducted HIV education programs. By senior | | | | one-year program with recent grads in mind. |
| year, I was confused. I did not know what to | | | | |
| do following graduation -- which of those | | | | As I mentioned earlier, competition for these |
| diverse paths to pursue. My senior year I | | | | jobs is intense, and I recommend checking out |
| took the minimum course load (12 hours in the | | | | AirlineCareer.com's online resource (forgive |
| Fall and an awesome 8 hours in the Spring) in | | | | me for sounding like an advertisement). This |
| order to devote most of my time and energy to | | | | will give you the best opportunity to get |
| the job search. I spent most of those days in | | | | hired. Of course, you could just wing it, but |
| the library, glued to a computer screen, | | | | I can almost guarantee you won't get hired |
| combing through every imaginable online job | | | | without some assistance. |
| listing. There were jobs I wanted that I | | | | |
| never could have gotten and jobs I could have | | | | Why It's All Worth It |
| gotten but never wanted. Graduation day | | | | |
| loomed, and I was freaking out. | | | | The benefits that come with an airline job |
| | | | cannot be beat, especially for those of us |
| All was not lost, though. I had two very real | | | | just starting to make our way in the world. |
| possibilities. The Peace Corps was a definite | | | | Considering the work involved, the pay is |
| interest. I could experience some far-away | | | | decent. But it is the free travel that lures |
| place and contribute to the betterment of the | | | | many into the industry. No matter how long |
| world. The other idea emerged from my closet | | | | you've worked for an airline, it is |
| obsession with air travel, which I finally | | | | undeniably cool to be able to hop on a plane |
| managed to do something about. Along with the | | | | and go anywhere on a day off. This past year |
| Peace Corps, I applied for a flight attendant | | | | alone, I spent Thanksgiving in London and New |
| position. I know…it seems strange to | | | | Year's in Frankfurt. For fun, I vacationed in |
| mention being a Peace Corps volunteer and a | | | | Thailand. "What are you going to do when you |
| flight attendant in the same breath. But both | | | | graduate?" |
| captured my overwhelming love of travel. It | | | | |
| was not an easy decision, but in the end, I | | | | Thousands of Cabin Crew around the world |
| decided to put the Peace Corps on hold and | | | | enjoy having an exciting and varied career |
| take the job as a flight attendant. It was | | | | which gives them the chance to travel, meet |
| time to have some fun and fulfill an old | | | | people and use interpersonal skills every |
| dream. | | | | working day of their lives. |
| | | | |
| Is It Right For Me? | | | | This is the reason why we receive hundreds of |
| | | | calls and emails from people asking for |
| You would not be reading this article if you | | | | assistance in achieving their dream job as |
| weren't at least mildly interested in an | | | | Cabin Crew. |
| airline career. But how do you know if it is | | | | |
| right for you? I have friends who often get | | | | The job entails performing safety and service |
| frustrated with their 9 to 5 office jobs and | | | | duties which ensure that air travellers are |
| toss around the idea of joining me. After we | | | | flying in a safe environment, whilst |
| get past the benefits (which are fantastic) | | | | receiving excellent standards of friendly |
| and get into the actual work, their interest | | | | service. |
| sometimes waivers. It is a demanding job, and | | | | |
| it takes more than a "people person" to solve | | | | With the continued expansion in the air |
| crises - both large and small - in such tight | | | | transport industry airlines are seeking |
| quarters and with very limited resources. You | | | | thousands of applications from good quality |
| must possess good self-esteem and the sense | | | | people with the right knowledge and character |
| not to take everything to heart cranky | | | | for the job of Cabin Crew. |
| passengers and crewmembers throw at you. You | | | | |
| have to be able to work strange hours, | | | | Finding good quality applicants, who adapt |
| including nights, weekends and holidays. But | | | | well to airline training courses and the |
| of course, there are many advantages: you do | | | | demands of the job is certainly becoming |
| not have to go to work every weekday from 9 | | | | harder. Airlines receive hundreds of |
| to 5, you typically get more time off than at | | | | applications and normally few are successful. |
| a typical job, and you very rarely see any | | | | |