Flight Attendant: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
10% of flight attendants earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $35,110
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of flight attendants earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $51,760
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of flight attendants earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $63,580
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of flight attendants earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $95,640
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of flight attendants earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $136,430
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Flight Attendants monitor safety of the aircraft cabin. The median pay is $63,580 a year (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (70% of workers surveyed by O*NET).
- Median pay
- $63,580
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 131,650
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 2 of 5
- some preparation
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 70% of workers
Every page for Flight Attendants
Education, training and the skills to build first.
Open →ResumeFlight Attendant resumeKeywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.
Open →Interview questionsFlight Attendant interview questionsQuestions with what they test, plus practice mode.
Open →Career changeFlight Attendant career changeWhere these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.
Open →Free toolCheck your resumeParsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.
Open →What flight attendants do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- 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.
- Prepare passengers and aircraft for landing, following procedures.
- Administer first aid to passengers in distress.
- Determine special assistance needs of passengers, such as small children, the elderly, or persons with disabilities.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, Public Safety and Security, English Language, Transportation, Psychology, Geography.
Software flight attendants use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- IBM Lotus LearningSpaceComputer based training software
- Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareIn demand
- Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareIn demand
- Microsoft PowerPointPresentation softwareIn demand
- Microsoft WordWord processing softwareIn demand
- Microsoft OutlookElectronic mail softwareHot technology
- Microsoft WindowsOperating system softwareHot technology
- AD OPT AltitudeCalendar and scheduling software
- Arkitektia Flight ItineraryCalendar and scheduling software
- Bid AssistantCalendar and scheduling software
- SBS International Maestro SuiteCalendar and scheduling software
- ValtamTech Flight Crew LogCalendar and scheduling software
Also called: In-Flight Crew Member, Inflight Services Flight Attendant, International Flight Attendant, Purser.
Similar careers to explore
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).