Flight Attendants
Overview
Salary
Demand
Core Tasks
Technology Skills
Tools Used
Top 10 Knowledge Required
Top 10 Skills
Top 10 Abilities
Top 10 Work Activities
Detailed Work Activities
Work Context
Education
Majors
Interests
Top 10 Work Styles
Work Values
Related Careers
Overview
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Experience
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Education
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Examples
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, and tellers.
Monitor safety of the aircraft cabin. Provide services to airline passengers, explain safety information, serve food and beverages, and respond to emergency incidents.
Salary Salary
Salary at 10th Percentile: $30K
Salary at 25th Percentile: $43K
Median Salary: $59K
Salary at 75th Percentile: $71K
Salary at 90th Percentile: $84K
Demand
Core Tasks
Verify that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order.
Announce and demonstrate safety and emergency procedures, such as the use of oxygen masks, seat belts, and life jackets.
Monitor passenger behavior to identify threats to the safety of the crew and other passengers.
Walk aisles of planes to verify that passengers have complied with federal regulations prior to takeoffs and landings.
Direct and assist passengers in emergency procedures, such as evacuating a plane following an emergency landing.
Prepare passengers and aircraft for landing, following procedures.
Administer first aid to passengers in distress.
Attend preflight briefings concerning weather, altitudes, routes, emergency procedures, crew coordination, lengths of flights, food and beverage services offered, and numbers of passengers.
Determine special assistance needs of passengers, such as small children, the elderly, or disabled persons.
Reassure passengers when situations, such as turbulence, are encountered.
Check to ensure that food, beverages, blankets, reading material, emergency equipment, and other supplies are aboard and are in adequate supply.
Announce flight delays and descent preparations.
Prepare reports showing places of departure and destination, passenger ticket numbers, meal and beverage inventories, the conditions of cabin equipment, and any problems encountered by passengers.
Greet passengers boarding aircraft and direct them to assigned seats.
Assist passengers entering or disembarking the aircraft.
Conduct periodic trips through the cabin to ensure passenger comfort and to distribute reading material, headphones, pillows, playing cards, and blankets.
Inspect and clean cabins, checking for any problems and making sure that cabins are in order.
Operate audio and video systems.
Answer passengers' questions about flights, aircraft, weather, travel routes and services, arrival times, or schedules.
Collect money for meals and beverages.
Heat and serve prepared foods.
Inspect passenger tickets to verify information and to obtain destination information.
Assist passengers in placing carry-on luggage in overhead, garment, or under-seat storage.
Take inventory of headsets, alcoholic beverages, and money collected.
Sell alcoholic beverages to passengers.
Technology Skills
Technology
Example
Hot Technology
Tools Used
Tool
Example
Top 10 Knowledge Required
Customer and Personal Service
91%
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Public Safety and Security
90%
Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
English Language
89%
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Transportation
70%
Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Psychology
67%
Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Geography
66%
Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Computers and Electronics
64%
Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Personnel and Human Resources
61%
Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Foreign Language
60%
Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Administration and Management
58%
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Top 10 Skills
Speaking
83%
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Listening
78%
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Monitoring
78%
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Service Orientation
75%
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness
75%
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Coordination
73%
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Active Learning
63%
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Critical Thinking
63%
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension
63%
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Time Management
63%
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Top 10 Abilities
Oral Expression
80%
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Clarity
80%
The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Oral Comprehension
78%
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Speech Recognition
78%
The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Near Vision
75%
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Problem Sensitivity
75%
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Deductive Reasoning
73%
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Auditory Attention
65%
The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
Information Ordering
65%
The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Extent Flexibility
63%
The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Top 10 Work Activities
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
97%
Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Getting Information
86%
Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems
85%
Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Assisting and Caring for Others
82%
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
82%
Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Handling and Moving Objects
81%
Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
81%
Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others
81%
Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
80%
Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Performing General Physical Activities
80%
Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
Detailed Work Activities
Inspect aircraft or aircraft components.
Provide transportation information to passengers or customers.
Monitor patron activities to identify problems or potential problems.
Monitor activities of individuals to ensure safety or compliance with rules.
Maintain surveillance of individuals or establishments.
Assist others during emergencies.
Provide first aid or rescue assistance in emergencies.
Resolve issues affecting transportation operations.
Receive information or instructions for performing work assignments.
Assist customers to ensure comfort or safety.
Monitor availability of equipment or supplies.
Record operational details of travel.
Assist passengers during vehicle boarding.
Inspect facilities to ensure compliance with safety, quality, or service standards.
Clean vehicles or vehicle components.
Operate communications equipment or systems.
Collect fares or payment from customers.
Verify information or specifications.
Sell products or services.
Work Context
Public Speaking
How often do you have to perform public speaking in this job?
Responsible for Others' Health and Safety
How much responsibility is there for the health and safety of others in this job?
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
Contact With Others
How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Sounds, Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable
How often does this job require working exposed to sounds and noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable?
Deal With External Customers
How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?
Face-to-Face Discussions
How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Exposed to High Places
How often does this job require exposure to high places?
Exposed to Radiation
How often does this job require exposure to radiation?
In an Enclosed Vehicle or Equipment
How often does this job require working in a closed vehicle or equipment (e.g., car)?
Education
Interests
Enterprising
86%
Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Social
77%
Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Conventional
67%
Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Realistic
48%
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Artistic
34%
Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Investigative
19%
Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Top 10 Work Styles
Concern for Others
95%
Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Dependability
95%
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Adaptability/Flexibility
94%
Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Cooperation
93%
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Social Orientation
93%
Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Self Control
91%
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Stress Tolerance
91%
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Independence
87%
Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Attention to Detail
85%
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Integrity
85%
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Work Values
Relationships
91%
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Support
86%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Working Conditions
69%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Independence
67%
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Achievement
53%
Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Recognition
43%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
