I had the opportunity to chat with the Captain of a flight from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur yesterday and I expressed my interest in being a Flight Attendant. When the Captain (whose name I did not manage to catch, unfortunately!) found out I am currently practising as a lawyer, he told me not to quit my day job!
I really love travelling and meeting new people which I believe is the highlight of a flight attendant job. I am thinking of trying for SIA as they will have International flights and sometimes will stay at the destination, depending on if it's a mid-haul or long haul flight.
The Captain also informed me that you're a lawyer and suggested that I contact you for more information regarding being in the aviation industry as compared to being in the legal industry.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this, anything and everything, really!
Thanks so much and have a great day!
Foong Jin
Hi Foong Jin,
I am not a practising lawyer as I took up this qualification just in case I became medically grounded. However, I never need to fall back on this and continued to fly until I retired. Now I am still involved in aviation as a simulator instructor rather than practicing law.
That said, I found flying to be a very fulfilling career, especially the worldwide travel part - also, I can write about it (I am in the process of completing my first book). Of course, this is very subjective as some would prefer other fields which do not involve travelling.
As a Flight Attendant with an International airline like SIA that has many overseas destinations, you have more choices to travel to.
Apart from that, life as a Flight Attendant can be fairly hard sometimes. Yes, there are also glamorous moments. If you don’t mind working with your night stop bags then that is the job for you. Most that I know would stay on as a Flight Attendant for a short spell then get married or move on to other fields. Others have stayed on and made it a career.
You are lucky in that you can go back to legal practise if you found you have had enough of it. Nevertheless, have a go at it.
I wish you all the best.
PS. To check for any latest updates or postings, you can follow my new Twitter at @CaptKHLim
