20-Year Prospect
While flight attendants will probably be around twenty years from now, there's a good chance that you personally will have changed careers and moved on to a job with…wider aisles? Better snacks? Friendlier customers?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics gives two thumbs down to flight attendants; employment in this field will supposedly decline by seven percent between now and 2022.
Why? Well, while big carriers like American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines may have pulled in record-breaking profits in the second quarter of 2014, earnings are extremely unusual for them. Generally speaking, airline companies are either bankrupt or flirting with it. This means job security is pretty much nonexistent for flight attendants.
And, seriously, why would you want this job? Why would you want to fly in a sardine can with hundreds of cranky passengers and their loads of luggage? Why would you want to mediate a fight between two passengers over whether or not people should be able to use Knee Defenders on planes?
So, do yourself a favor: pick a career with a future that doesn't involve you getting furloughed after spending years smelling other people's poop at 20,000 feet.