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A former flight attendant has revealed why she left her job after just one year, while revealing the pros and cons of working in the skies.
Ashlee Rogers, who was a Virgin Airlines flight attendant, has shared the reasons behind her “bittersweet” decision to leave the aviation industry.
She says the disadvantages of being a flight attendant began to outweigh the advantages and she 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 “any time, any day of the week.”
“It changes every day, it changes every week and I found that in itself to be really exhausting,” she said.
“Aviation is a 24-hour industry, it never stops. So, because of shift work and having hundreds of employees, it is very difficult to be flexible in work.
“It’s difficult to get leave and exchange shifts. You must notify your annual leave months in advance and even then it may not be approved.
Ashlee Rogers, who was a stewardess on Virgin Airlines, shared the reasons behind her ‘bittersweet’ decision to leave the aviation industry (pictured)
She said the staffing system is determined by individual preferences, such as having weekends off, preferring early morning or late evening shifts. However, these preferences are not guaranteed.
“So it’s a little difficult to plan your life around your work, it’s doable, but it’s just a little more difficult,” she continued.
The third reason she quit was the unpredictability of the aviation industry.
“Nothing is guaranteed. Your shift for that day isn’t even guaranteed. What you will have tomorrow is not guaranteed. Everything can change in a second,” she said.
“You might just be gone for a quarter of a day, the next minute you might be gone for four days. You don’t know what’s going to happen.
“They can send you anywhere at any time.
“Obviously there are rules about it, but they can just change your roster, they can change your teams.”
Ms Rogers said the lists were only sent out a month in advance, so flight attendants did not know if they were going to stay overnight or were on hold.
“So when you’re on standby, you don’t know where you’re going or what you’re doing. I like to be organized. I like to know what I’m doing,” she said.
His last reason was simply being more of a homebody.
“Even though it’s fun to stay overnight, explore new places and things like that, I started dreading it towards the end and 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 thought about was that I wanted to be at home.
“I don’t even enjoy that part of the job.”
The budding influencer decided to pursue a career in social media after finding that the downsides of being a flight attendant were starting to outweigh the upside (pictured).
Ms Rogers (pictured) explained that because flight attendants worked shifts, she had to work “any time, any day of the week”.
Ms Rogers said she had met “amazing” people and that being a flight attendant could be the best job in the world if you made it your lifestyle.
“And it’s a great lifestyle at that, but it’s a lifestyle on their terms, on your employers’ terms. You could be in Bali one week, and you could be in Fiji the next week or you could be in Perth and it’s great, it’s a great lifestyle,” she said.
“Basically you travel for free, you get to 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 changes they give you, wherever they want to send you, then you’ll love the job and you’ll probably stay there forever.
“I will definitely miss flying and I am very grateful to have had this opportunity. It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone and I met so many people I never would have met before.
“But now it’s time to move on to my next chapter.”
His views on the industry resonated with Australians.
“My daughter literally just left today. She was a short distance away and it made her sick and exhausted. She is heartbroken because she loves this job,” one said.
“Girl, my life has changed since I stopped stealing!” I feel refreshed and I’m not so sick anymore, it’s amazing,” said a second.
“Depends on the airline but mine doesn’t have many of these issues, it’s so easy to swap and make time with mine,” said a third.
A fourth shared: “Yes yes yes! You literally explained all the reasons why I left that lifestyle…thanks for the reassurance. I needed it today.
Ms Rogers (pictured) explained that lists were only sent out a month in advance, so flight attendants could not plan their lives like other full-time workers.