So uh, for the most part, $50-$60k/year is a middle class income, and depending on where you live, can be upper middle class (in the US, in USD; in Canada the numbers are lower in CAD).

For the vast majority of workers in North America, $25-$30/ hour is well paid. Many people buy houses and raise families in households with one middle class income and one lower income.

It’s a terrible income considering how much time you have to devote to it, starting when you leave the house. $50-$60k when you come home everyday at a set schedule and get to see your kids and have dinner with the family is different than $50k-$60k where you spend almost all the time traveling and getting an extra dose of solar radiation.

I’m sure it’s a great job for single and younger people who might want those trade offs, but it sucks overall.

Assuming they're paid for 40 hours a week. The parent was pointing out that flight attendants spend a lot of time hanging around airports that they're not usually compensated for.

I'm not arguing it's a bad job. Historically, it was seen as a somewhat exotic see-the-world job for young people. (And at least the Asian carriers sort of enforced that.)

(1) you're assuming a 40hr work week (2) median household income in the USA is about $56k.

> $50-$60k/year is a middle class income,

It's perhaps a middle income income, but its not an income that is typical of the middle class (petit bourgeoisie).

this is needless hairsplitting. I doubt you can find two people who agree on exactly what "middle class" means. some people use class as a direct proxy for income. for others class might be tied to the way you make money (hourly wage, salary, or returns from capital), level of education, and/or "lifestyle".

the wikipedia page for "petit bourgeoisie" lists the following as examples:

* Successful small business owners.

* Middle managers in the service sector (middle management).

* Lawyers working in small partnerships.

* Private GP practices.

depending how successful "successful" is here, the first and second examples could be people making $50-60k in a low-mid COL area. I don't think most people would consider a lawyer to be middle class (maybe upper-middle), and I definitely don't think they would consider a doctor with their own practice to be middle class.

You get a lot of perks though - free meals, free flights, free hotel stays, etc. It might be an extra $25k yearly for the perks of being a drink server/babysitter at FL300

You get those perks, but you’re also not seeing your family.

I know 3 flight attendants and they are quintessential perennial bachelor(ettes). Two of them fly SF-NY all the time and have friend groups in both cities.