6 Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming A Flight Attendant

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.

A few years ago, after graduating university, I found myself in a career rut. I wasn't hearing back about any job interviews in my field and was feeling pretty discouraged.

A family member in the airline industry suggested I become a flight attendant and see the world while getting paid. The idea immediately intrigued me, and a few months later, I found myself stepping onto a plane, ready to operate my first flight as a stewardess.

The job was one of the most unique experiences of my life, and I ended up sticking with it for over a year.

It wasn't all fun and travel, and there were definitely some challenging aspects. Here are six things I wish I knew before becoming a flight attendant.

The training is no joke

I didn't know much about the training process, but quickly learned how intense it is. First, I was sent online courses and modules that took hours to complete.

The in-person part of the training was held in Quebec and spanned four weeks. A group of us were flown out of Toronto and made our new home in a hotel with roomies we'd never met.

Every day, we took a bus to the training centre, where we had eight hour lessons with some hands-on activities. There were tests nearly every class, and we often stayed up to study after getting back to the hotel at midnight.

As challenging as the training process was, I was proud to have completed it, and it felt so rewarding to "get my wings" alongside my new friends and colleagues at the end of the month.

The exhaustion is real

Leading up to my first flights, everyone told me how tiring the job would be. I naively brushed this aside. I had worked several overnight jobs throughout my life — how much different could this be?

It didn't take long for me to see that I had gravely underestimated how tiring flight attending can be.

It was the most exhausting thing I have ever, and probably will ever experience. Sometimes I would work a flight that left at midnight. Other days, my flight would leave at 6 a.m. My internal clock was totally thrown, and I sure felt the side effects of the perpetual jet lag.

You have to nap on layovers

As someone who has always resisted napping, I found it hard to justify going straight to sleep during layovers, especially when I had limited time to explore.

I remember landing in Italy during my first layover. All of the other flight attendants went to the hotel to rest after the 8-hour flight, but I was way too excited.

I roamed the streets all day long, and when I finally got back to my room, I realized with horror that I hadn't slept in over 30 hours. Needless to say, I didn't feel so great on the flight home the next day.

Eventually, after completely wearing myself out over the summer, I took the advice of one flight attendant who told me to nap for just three hours after landing.

It made a world of difference and allowed me to enjoy my layovers much more.

Flight attendants are much more than servers

One of my biggest surprises about the flight attendant job was that it was way more focused on safety than service. In fact, service wasn't even the main focus of training.

Instead, we constantly practiced our evacuation commands, first aid, and more. We were shocked at just how much responsibly lies on the shoulders of flight attendants and gained a new appreciation for them.

Say goodbye to a schedule

If you are a person of routine and love to stick to a schedule, flight attending probably isn't for you. For the first few months, I was on reserve, meaning that I could get a call at any point during a twelve-hour block telling me I had to fly.

I always had to be ready with my bag packed so I could get to the airport fast. Sometimes I'd get called for a short flight and be back the same day, while other times, I'd get called for a week-long trip.

It was exciting and always an adventure when the phone rang, but it was also impossible to plan anything unless I booked it way in advance. The upside was there were often days where I didn't get called, which meant that I had lots of spare time to enjoy my hobbies at home.

It will enrich your life

There were ups and downs (no pun intended) during my time as a flight attendant, but I'm so glad that I had the experience. I feel like it helped me grow into the person I am, and I made so many friends along the way.

I got to experience all kinds of cultures and people and it brought me out of my shell, as I can be a little shy sometimes. It also was a great test of my confidence, as there were moments where I needed to take charge and make fast decisions.

I miss the feeling of walking up the aisle of an empty plane to grab my luggage and head home. The crew would hug and say their goodbyes, and there was something truly special about the end of an adventure and the promise of a new one.