Secrets of a flight attendant: I quit my job after just one year – here are the four reasons why

A former flight attendant has revealed why she quit her job after just one year, as she reveals the pros and cons of working in the sky.

Virgin Airlines hostess Ashlee Rogers shared the reasons behind her “bittersweet” decision to leave the airline industry.

She says the cons of being a flight attendant began to outweigh the pros, and has now decided to pursue a career as a social media influencer.

Ms. Rogers explained that because flight attendants worked shifts, they could be expected to work “at any hour, any day of the week.”

“It changes every day, it changes every week and I found that in itself very tiring,” she said.

‘Aviation is a 24-hour industry and never stops. Because there are shifts and there are hundreds of employees, it is very difficult to be flexible.’

“It’s hard to get time off and it’s hard to change shifts. You have to cancel your annual leave months in advance and even then it may not be approved.’

She clarified that the scheduling system is determined by individual preferences, such as free weekends and preference for early morning or late night shifts. However, these preferences are not guaranteed.

“So it’s a little bit hard to plan your life around work, it’s doable, but it’s just a little bit harder,” she continued.

Her third reason for quitting was how unpredictable the airline industry is.

‘Nothing is guaranteed. Your shift for that day isn’t even guaranteed. Whatever you have tomorrow is not guaranteed. Everything can change in a second,” she said.

‘You may just come and work a day shift, the next minute you might be away for four days. You don’t know what’s going to happen.

‘They can send you almost anytime, anywhere.

“Obviously there are rules for that, but they can just change your schedule, they can change the shifts you have.”

Ms Rogers said the rosters were only sent out a month in advance, so flight attendants did not know whether they would be away overnight or on standby days.

‘If you have standby days, you don’t know where you are going or what you are doing. I like to be organized. “I like to know what I’m doing,” she said.

Her final reason was simply that she was more of a homebody.

“As much fun as it is to stay overnight and explore new places and stuff like that, I eventually started to dread it and I didn’t want to leave,” she said.

‘I didn’t want to leave my partner, I just wanted to be at home with him and when I was in these hotels all I could think was: I want to be home.

“I don’t even like that aspect of the job.”

Ms Rogers said she had met some “amazing” people and that being a flight attendant could be the best job in the world if you made it your lifestyle.

“And besides, it’s a great lifestyle, but it’s a lifestyle on their terms, on your employer’s terms. You could be in Bali one week, and Fiji the next week, or you could be in Perth and that’s great, that’s a great lifestyle,” she said.

‘You’re basically traveling for free, you can go to all these amazing places, but it’s not on your own time if you know what I mean.

“So if you can adapt and just surrender to the services they give you, wherever they want to send you, then you will love the job and probably stay in the job forever.

“I will definitely miss flying and I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity. It has definitely pushed me outside of my comfort zone and I have met so many people that I would never have met before.

“But now it’s time for my next chapter.”

Her views on the industry resonated with Aussies.

“My daughter literally left today. She was a short distance away and it only made her sick and exhausted. She is heartbroken because she loves her job,” one person said.

‘Girl, my life has changed since I stopped flying! I feel refreshed and don’t get nearly as sick anymore, it’s incredible,” said a second.

“It depends on the airline, mine doesn’t have a lot of these issues, it’s so easy to swap with mine and get time off,” said a third.

A fourth shared: ‘Yes yes yes! You literally explained all the reasons why I left this lifestyle…thanks for the reassurance. I needed that today.’