I needed a full-time job with benefits, but I couldn’t go back to being a lawyer. After traveling since 2018 on our Bristol 29.9 up and down the U.S. East Coast and the Bahamas (see https://www.adventuresontheclub.com if you care to find out more about that adventure), the idea of sitting behind a desk again was NOT appealing. We had finally settled down in Baltimore, MD and I was eligible for admission to the Maryland Bar without having to take an exam, but my application sat on an open tab on my laptop for a few months. I clearly didn’t want to do it.
Casting about, trying to think of careers that were more appealing than the law, I was scrolling on Reddit when a suggested sub-Reddit came up: Cabin Crew Careers. I clicked on it and saw that it was about being a flight attendant. A flight attendant? Hmm. My dad had suggested it when I dropped out of college almost 40 years ago, but I hadn’t pursued it for reasons that I can’t remember.
So I researched it for a few hours and discovered that the U.S. mainline carriers were taking applications. Although I hadn’t applied for a “real” job since 2005, I knew that corporations now used AI to sift through resumes, so I fiddled with mine a bit to add a few keywords that I thought would be appropriate, and I hit “send.”
I had no idea that a U.S. mainline carrier gets 100,000 applications for 1,500 jobs. I was clueless about the fact that if my resume made it past the AI filter, I would then have to take an on-line skills/personality assessment that would need to pass muster with AI, then record myself answering situational questions that would need to – yes, get past the AI. Only then would I be able to have a live, face-to-face interview before finding out if I could get the job. Ignorance can be bliss.
All I knew was that the more I researched it, the more it sounded like the perfect job for me at this point in my life. Approximately a month later, my resume had made it through, I passed the assessment and the pre-recorded interview, I was flown out for the face-to-face interview with around 50 other candidates for that morning alone, and I landed the job.
To say I was surprised was an understatement. And to say I was excited about it was a REAL understatement. When I got the email offering me the job, I literally ran around the table repeatedly, all the while yelling, “WHEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!”
But there was a long way to go before I earned my wings and could start flying. Seven weeks of training, six days a week, 10-12 hours a day. It was like drinking from a firehose. Weekly tests. CPR and first aid. Door day. Ditching day.
It was a lot. There were some tears and there was a lack of confidence at times, but I made it through. And here I am! Still traveling, but on an airplane instead of a boat.
There is a saying among sailors: “Nothing goes to windward like a 747.” I figured it would be the perfect name for this blog. Unlike my last blog, this one will focus primarily on travels – layover fun, non-revving fun, both on my own and with Jeff.
I want to have a diary with pictures to look through to remember my adventures once I’ve finally settled down. I may throw in a flight attendant info post here and there if anyone cares – assuming anyone is reading this besides my family and friends (unlikely given the scope, but that’s fine.)
So let’s see what happens. To quote Ellie in the movie “Up”, adventure is out there!
Nothing goes to windward . . . 