The Similarity Between Being an Astronaut and a Flight Attendant

  Growing up I wanted to be an astronaut. I wanted to go into space and explore a new frontier. By the time I entered high school I realized that my math skills were nowhere near where they would need to be to get into space, plus I was developing new interests as well. As I was leaving high school I went back and forth between either going into filmmaking or becoming a flight attendant (like my mother before me), due to my growing love of movies and lifelong love of travel and airplanes. After earning a Bachelor’s degree, doing volunteer work in Israel for nearly two years, and living in the state of Washington where I worked customer service jobs and focused on getting into the airline industry, I am now living abroad and teaching English.

Funny how life works sometimes.  

Anyway, I’ve noticed something similar about the careers of being an astronaut and a flight attendant (other than the fact that they both go into the sky). At first they may seem very dissimilar. Generally speaking becoming an astronaut does require more training. To even be seriously considered one needs to have a degree in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and most candidates tend to be people formerly in the military (often pilots), or have a background in the sciences (if not a mix of both). Flight attendants don’t necessarily have to have a Bachelor’s degree in any field (although it might help, and would definitely help if they knew another language), although they do go through rigorous training as well to prepare for emergencies and everything else involved with the job.

But the thing I’ve noticed that is similar to both being an astronaut and a flight attendant is that there’s more involved in each job than many people realize. 

Let’s start with the job of being an astronaut. Ever since NASA was founded many people whined and moaned, saying, “Why are we spending our tax payer money on this? Why spend money on sending people to float about in space instead of roads and stuff?” What many people don’t realize is that astronauts going into space often end up doing experiments that have greatly helped our life back here in Earth (not to mention helping to advance our knowledge of the overall Universe). Many everyday inventions used here on Earth from skin cream to brain surgery have been created or advanced thanks to knowledge gathered by hard-working astronauts.

Flight attendants also do more than most people realize. Many people think to themselves, “All flight attendants have to do is give out drinks and look good.” There’s a lot more to that job than giving out food with a smile. Along with being basically the face of the airline, they’re the ones prepared to help in case of an emergency. If God forbid there’s a situation on the plane, flight attendants are the ones that are on the front lines to perhaps even risk their lives for their passengers. 

I think the lesson from this is that many jobs one may not be involved with are oftentimes harder or more involved than one realizes, or contributes more to society than a person might think. This can be whether working as a teacher, a writer, in a restaurant, or in any number of careers that some people have never been directly involved with. This can be the case whether or not someone has a career that society’s generally applauds. So maybe before judging someone’s career, perhaps do a little research on it first.