Career
Flight attendants
Keep passengers safe and cared for in flight.
$63,580
Median pay
+8.8%
Job growth, 2025–35
18,500
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then people & care?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Verify that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Speaking, Monitoring, Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $63,580 a year and 18,500 openings nationally each year.
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Passenger Attendants$37,720 · +6.0%
- Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks$44,390 · +2.5%
- First-Line Supervisors of Passenger Attendants
- Airfield Operations Specialists$56,850 · +7.8%
- Baggage Porters and Bellhops$37,080 · -3.0%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.