We often see pilots as a masculine job. Not to mention the age of an average pilot is around 45 years old.
It is easy to get mistaken as a flight attendant when you are a young female pilot.
But the piloting world is changing.
Meet Sabrina Johnson.
She has 8 years of flight experience at such a very young age, in her early 20s.
Sabrina was very lucky to have a supportive family. They never hesitated to help her pursue a career in aviation.
At 14 years old, she began pilot training courses while in high school. At 16, she was able to do her first solo flight. Then she became a private pilot a year after.
From a teenage hobby to becoming a professional.
Piloting could be her hobby, but she pushed her way and make it a profession. For 3 years she studied hard to become a flight instructor.
Many parties were skipped during college just so she could do extra hours for her love of flying. She even continued to study even on vacation!
Talk about dedication and passion. That is how strong her determination was to become a pilot and a flight instructor as soon as she could.
She graduated from college at the age of 20 as a flight instructor with a helicopter pilot license.
She landed her first piloting job not long after.
It’s surprising to see a 22-year-old girl could get the job.
She was 22 with years of experience.
But at that point in time, she already has 8 years’ worth of flight experience under her belt.
Due to her age and gender, she is often mistaken as a flight attendant by either passengers or airport employees. So one day she decided to post it on TikTok.
This video of her went viral after she posted it with the caption, “It’s jarring to me because they work at an airport. You know what the pilot uniforms are.”
Also in the video she wrote, “Gate agent looked me in the eye today asked if I was the flight attendant. (Common occurrence).”
In spite of the fact that she wore her pilot uniform, there are still instances that she was being asked. This could be well related to the statistics of women being pilots in the US.
Believe it or not, less than a third of US pilots are women.
70.7% of US pilots are men.
And the average age of a pilot is about 45 years old.
The TikTok video has amassed more than 2 million views since Sabrina posted it on October 2022. She caught the attention of mass media outlets, and now got invites to guest on shows.
Sabrina’s story is relatable to a lot of people. They often get stereotyped every day all because of their appearance, age, gender, or a combination.
There were comments mentioning they were also mistaken as “assistants” or “designers,” rather than “engineers” and “surgeons.”
One user commented, “I’m a plastics engineer and am often asked if I’m in HR and in my (much) younger days I was often asked if I was there to visit my dad.”
Such misconceptions due to age, gender, or appearance are still common even today.
But it should not stop you from pursuing your dreams.
Watch Sabrina’s now-viral video below and share your thoughts!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
@sabrinaleej Its jarring to me because they work at an airport. You know what the pilot uniforms are 😠#pilotsoftiktok #airlines #fyp #bruh ♬ Miss You (Sped Up Version) – _
