The view on top of a mountain is indeed very beautiful. When you make it to the top, it feels like you own the world. You appreciate God’s creation even more. You savor the moment of being at the peak of a mountain when before, you would just look up that peak from the ground. This is what it is like as you try to turn that cabin crew dream into a reality. The view from 40,000ft is amazing but to get inside that aircraft in a uniform will mean a lot of hardship, pain, sacrifice, dedication, and focus. In other words, the journey to being a flight attendant is challenging but worth it.
Becoming a flight attendant by itself is challenging
The journey to being a flight attendant is challenging. Out of more than 2,000 that had applied at a certain local airline in 2019, only less than 170 so far have made it in, and around 150 of them are undergoing training already. That is just the recruitment process. Indeed, we cannot discount the fact that airline standards are very high when it comes to becoming their cabin crew as airlines invest a huge sum of money in them. Training equipment, trainers, certification, uniform, salaries, benefits, and so much more. Being at the forefront of passengers inside the cabin, expectations are indeed very high from these flight attendants, especially during an emergency.
Let us not concentrate though on the challenges and the high attrition rate, instead, let us focus on those who have made the journey to earn their wings.
Not everyone is fit to become a cabin crew, the job requires so much, hence, you have to examine yourself if this is for you. You have to dig deep into your soul about why you want to be a flight attendant. You also have to know the requirements and physical qualifications like height, weight, and all. If you feel you are within the physical requirements and you want to go for this childhood dream of yours, it is then time to pursue it.
Rejection can become an opportunity to improve
Looking at the very strict and stringent recruitment process, you may or may not make it on the first shot. If you make it, congratulations! If you don’t, never think that this is the end. You may just have stumbled on a pit or hurdle on your way up. Stop for a while, see what went wrong, and try again. It is just like playing snakes and ladders by yourself. You may rise and go down as you journey towards the end line. All you have to do is to keep rolling the dice and go on. The greatest hurdle in the recruitment process is getting rejected but then again, these hurdles are opportunities that present themselves to make us better than before.
Always be hungry for knowledge.
Sometimes, even the preparation process for your interview is already difficult. You will practice and practice how to answer some mock interview questions, you will study about the job of becoming a cabin crew, and you will do all just to be physically fit. Some, go to the extent of spending money just to remove those skin blemishes, fix their teeth, fix their eye vision, and lose weight.
Things are not over yet after passing the screening process as training is another one. Here, everything will be pushed to the limits. Your physical, emotional, mental, and social sides will all be tested and pushed to the wall. Just think of reading and understanding 2 to 3 volumes of a manual as thick as a Bible with exams almost every day and a mandatory passing mark of 90%, physical drills like ditching, first aide, fire fighting, jump and slide, door drills, passenger service, all packed in 2 to 3 months! As we say here, it is like one whole college term packed in just 70 days!
Your flight attendant journey begins the moment you dream of becoming one
Your cabin crew journey does not only start when you apply to the airlines. It starts the moment you dream and affirm that you will become a cabin crew. The journey begins once you say “this is for me, I will become a cabin crew in due time”. Those times you would practice walking like a cabin crew, those times when you would read about the job of a flight attendant, those times when you would check the various cabin crew pictures on my social media platforms, to applying, until you finally earn your wings, all those are part of your climb up Mt. Flight Attendant.
The journey is indeed hard, but for as long as you do not take that single step, your dream to be a cabin crew will just be a pipe dream.
Progress is progress
Every step you take towards your cabin crew dream is still a step forward. Those times you would practice, those times you would encounter turn downs during interviews and trying again, all those are important steps forward.
Just like climbing a mountain, the higher you go, the steeper it will be, and definitely, the more challenging it is. When you are already halfway up and you feel that you can no longer climb up because it gets steeper and steeper, will you stop and just go down? Think of all the effort you already placed in, hence, you might as well finish strong, even if you are beaten and bruised. In your journey to become a cabin crew, the more you move forward, everything will become more hard and challenging, we tell you. When that happens, continue! You may stop and rest, but continue the climb. You have already placed so much effort into climbing halfway, that you might as well finish it.
Know the limitations too
Of course, know your limits too. If you feel that perhaps, you don’t fit the physical requirements, especially with regard to height, then go choose a different career. We do highly suggest that from the very start, you already go and check if you will pass the physical requirements for cabin crew. Height or reach that is.
So to all cabin crew aspirants, if you feel this is for you, take steps forward. As you move and move, things will get harder and harder, and when this happens, it just means you are making progress towards your dream. Keep going on. Learn from the mistakes and go up again. As things get steeper, know that you are nearing your cabin crew goal. Trust us, once you make it to the top, regardless of how battered and bruised you were toward your journey, only one thing will come into mind, that the view up there is a million times worth the journey up.
Do not give-up. Your journey to be a flight attendant may be challenging, but all worth it.
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
