Should I stay or should I go?

[FlightChic]

Ok, I know I'm going to get flamed for asking total strangers for their opinion but here goes:

I'm a reserve flight attendant. I have no seniority and I'm constantly being jerked around with the reserve system which I hate. I don't really like this job but I don't hate it either. It's just OK. It's low stress. I don't have to take work home with me. I get lots of free time, except for the times when I need to be off the most. Oh, and I never get Christmas or Thanksgiving off so I have to celebrate with my family before the actual holiday, then I get all depressed when I fly on that holiday.

I was offered two teaching jobs. I have to make a decision about whether to take them (and which one which I think I know I just don't know whether I want to quit US) and make it fast, as in today. Should I stay here, which is unstable, and things are only getting worse for us, or should I go back to the real world that is full of stress, but I can also make a living doing what I really enjoy and will be beneficial to my future career goals? I do have fun here sometimes. Teaching jobs will always be there, but if I quit here, that's it. I'm out for good. Is my future worth waiting another year? Ugh! I hate this. I was so fed up with US Airways and I have been saying all year I am quitting and now that it's time for a real decision, I am having second thoughts. My gut instinct says to stay for one more year but I just get so fed up with things here that I just want to leave. I am embarrassed to tell people I work for US Airways but I won't be embarrassed to say I am a teacher. Ugh! I know, nobody can make the decision but me. I just needed to get it out. OK, gotta go think some more. The clock is ticking.

 

[ACrazy8]

The airline biz is uncertain. Become a teacher and enrich the lives of our youth. You have passion and heart. Share it with those who need it most! It sounds to me like you know what you should be doing. Go ahead! You'll be fine! Enough of the L.T.O!!!!

 

[lildutchgrl]

Take the teaching job and enjoy summers off. At least teaching is rewarding and you know you will be making a difference in the lives of children. I say go for it and don't look back.

 

[hp_fa]

Go teach and don't look back.

 

[PHLFlyer]

"What's the worse that can happen if I stay?" That's what you should ask yourself.

If you don't like working holidays and you are embarrassed by the company then you should probably do something else. I know lots of people at other airlines and they are embarrassed as well.

Remember, this industry may never be a stable one and has it's drawbacks no matter what your seniority might be.

 

[4merresrat]

Ok, I know I'm going to get flamed for asking total strangers for their opinion but here goes:

I'm a reserve flight attendant. I have no seniority and I'm constantly being jerked around with the reserve system which I hate. I don't really like this job but I don't hate it either. It's just OK. It's low stress. I don't have to take work home with me. I get lots of free time, . .

I was offered two teaching jobs. I have to make a decision about whether to take them (and which one which I think I know I just don't know whether I want to quit US) and make it fast, as in today. Should I stay here, which is unstable, and things are only getting worse for us, or should I go back to the real world that is full of stress, but I can also make a living doing what I really enjoy and will be beneficial to my future career goals? g.

That is pretty much how life is. A life choice. Most jobs that have a future and are meaningful are going to entail some stress. . So do you want to stay and play at US Airways yet still be frustrated with your plight; no holidays etc. Or, do you go back to a real career with a future that might be meaningful but is full of stress. Do you think doctors have stress free jobs? What if all doctors said they don't want to practice because of the stress, or even your fellow teachers.

Don't get me wrong, I am ALL for playing but seriously you have to pick. Very few people can have it all. Even professional athletes have their fair of stress. And even celebs with their seemingly privledged lives speak of their stress.

I would leave the sooner the better. No future in the airline business.

 

[luvn737s]

GO

 

[2BorNot2B]

IMHO, get a Civil Service job where you will enjoy stability and a Pension you can rely on to be there when the time comes. Airlines were great years ago ... there is little left of what was!

Good Luck to you!

2B

 

[Elevation]

Great another teacher who rather be somewhere else. Poor kids.

 

[FlightChic]

Great another teacher who rather be somewhere else. Poor kids.

OK, first of all I am an excellent teacher and very passionate about educating today's youth. You don't know me so don't judge my teaching abilities based on a post. Second of all, I really do want to teach but just quitting a "fun" job on the fly (no pun intended) is not an easy decision. Do I want to leave and do what I am passionate about even though it is a difficult and sometimes stressful job or do I want to stay here and do a meaningless job yet have some fun? Am I ready to give up the fun? What if I regret leaving US Airways? In any case, this has nothing to do with my knowledge of teaching pedagogy nor my ability to inspire and motivate children.

 

[sharonstoneseat]

You may be able to have both. Go be a teacher and you can probably find a way to fly during the summer months. Some airlines hire just for the summer, USA3000 used to hire April through December but that may be flexible (pay used to be VERY good). There are also independent contractors or maybe part time in the summer for fractionals or corporate.

There are good F/A jobs out there. See the world through a bigger window.

http://www.corporateflyer.net/corporate-fl...-attendants.htm

 

[UtterlyUdder]

My gut instinct says to stay for one more year but I just get so fed up with things here that I just want to leave. I am embarrassed to tell people I work for US Airways but I won't be embarrassed to say I am a teacher. Ugh! I know, nobody can make the decision but me. I just needed to get it out. OK, gotta go think some more. The clock is ticking.
[/quote]

I always enjoy reading your posts. Even this one. Life is all about choices but know this: you are the Captain of your own ship of life. You are FREE no matter what and once you understand what that truly means, your choice of what to do now will be clear to you.

Don't be embarrassed to tell people you work for USAir. You are anything but an embarrassment! It is the choices of others who have gotten you here and you are not responsible for that.

I am saddened to read this forum because I remember a day when USAir was the darling of the industry and the pay was "Delta plus 1%". U pilots were the highest paid in the industry. FA's made good money as well. Things have deteriorated because of the price of oil.........among many other things that are posted here regularly.

I recently decided to buy books on the history of USAir and was fortunate enough to get "The Triple A Story: 1938-1946" by Frank Petee. Most of you probably don't know who he is (or was and I hope still is!) and it is full of stories about mail pickup and All American Airways etc up until 1946. It is a treasure!

Another book is "The Airways to Everywhere; A History of All American Aviation: 1937-1953" by Lewis and Trumble.

I've bought other books as well and have given them to a few friends of mine...one who was "there" and another one who is "there" now. One needed reminding and the other one needs to know the history of this once fine airline.

You are a part of this story and I for one, don't think USAir will disappear. Tough times require tough people but you are young and on the dreaded reserve list so you can leave with no regrets. Many others have been at U for a long time and they don't have the choice to leave that you do....well, make that they DO have the choice to go but they have more to lose.

EVERYONE is FREE! I know it doesn't feel that way to most of you now but there are no guarantees in life which I am sure you all hate to hear again and again. Life is also depends upon a good an attitude, a bunch of smiles and laughter and realizing that life really is short will go a long way to help you decide. Whatever you do, good luck and best wishes,

UU

 

[flybynite]

If you think you'll regret leaving, then stay. If you don't think you can bear another 6 months of reserve, then leave with no regrets.

I have a bunch of friends who are teachers and they have a real love/hate relationship with their jobs too. And some have thrown in the towel because of the schools they were in. (they are fa's now) Which is a shame because this county needs more dedicated teachers.

Can you take a leave? Teach for a while and then make up your mind? It would give you a break from this place so you could clear your head.

 

[UtterlyUdder]

If you think you'll regret leaving, then stay. If you don't think you can bear another 6 months of reserve, then leave with no regrets.

I have a bunch of friends who are teachers and they have a real love/hate relationship with their jobs too. And some have thrown in the towel because of the schools they were in. (they are fa's now) Which is a shame because this county needs more dedicated teachers.

Can you take a leave? Teach for a while and then make up your mind? It would give you a break from this place so you could clear your head.

That's very good advice. I would also say don't agonize about this choice because it doesn't have to be made right this minute.

UU

 

[NCFL]

I was devastated when I left. It was not voluntary but I got over it.

I miss the industry - in theory. At one point in history, perhaps even to some extent when I started with US, it had a certain glamour to it. Think Leo DiCaprio in "Catch Me If You Can." Except I don't look like him and I didn't have six or seven flight attendants hanging from my arms parading around MIA. I was in shorts and flip flops in RES sporting a very un-cool headset working queues and then in Consumer Affairs getting yelled at by customers. LOL. Still, people would say "wow" when you told them where you worked. Now, all they do is gripe about their last flight or give you that "pity look."

Those glamour days are SO over.

Now that I've been away for 9 months or so, and I'm done licking my wounds, I can't imagine going back to the dysfunctionality, the uncertainty, the working conditions, the labor-management lack of respect, the general "man's-inhumanity-to-man" attitude, etc.

If you have a passionate call elsewhere, run to it. If you have hesitancy about leaving, and can put up with the reserve lifestyle AND keep a smile on your face, stick it out, but my advice is to set a date when you're going to reexamine things. Don't just leave it open-ended. It's the basic law of inertia: Absent any other force, an object at rest tends to stay at rest; an object in motion tends to stay in motion.

I'll say this one last thing: If you are contemplating leaving, don't do so until you have another job lined up. It's hard to find a job period. But it's even more difficult, it seems, to find one when you don't have one.

Best of luck.