• Abby Ooi worked full-time as a flight attendant while pursuing a bachelor’s and master’s degree in counseling.
• Ooi, 28, had to sacrifice sightseeing and sleep to catch up.
• His days off were devoted to his internship hours.

This essay as told is based on a conversation with Abby Ooi, therapist, graduate student, and former Singapore Airlines flight attendant. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

At 18, I left Malaysia to Singapore with $230 and a career plan.

I wanted to become a flight attendant… something I’ve dreamed of since I was young. My mother raised my two older brothers and me alone. Growing up, we couldn’t afford to travel, so I thought I would do it myself one day.

After working in retail for three years — and while pursuing my bachelor’s degree in liberal arts — I landed a job at Singapore Airlines as air hostess at 22.

I was young, excited and grateful to have gotten this job. I thought I had everything I wanted.

But a few months into my second year working for Singapore AirlinesI started feeling a lot of stress. I had to show up every day in perfect shape and being nice to everyone, then return to an empty apartment. and study for my bachelor’s degree. I couldn’t afford to take days off because I needed my salary.

I also found the industry expectations conflicting. There were strict rules to follow and I couldn’t challenge myself to think critically. Fly too it took its toll on my body.

I decided to start see a therapistand it helped. A few months later, she asked me if I had ever considered a career in therapy. She told me I picked things up quickly and was very aware.

Until then, I had obtained my bachelor’s degree and had been working for a few years. I realized that I had the ability and resources to pursue what had become my second dream: to become a therapist. My therapist’s words encouraged me to pursue this new career.

During my third year as a flight attendant, I completed a six-month graduate certificate course in counseling and made the decision to pursue a master’s degree in counseling part-time.

Balancing work and studies comes with sacrifices

I spent approximately 60,000 Singapore dollars, or $45,500, for my Masters and Postgraduate Certificate from Monash University. Expenses so much money while avoiding loans made me feel determined to achieve this.

My degree was part-time, with approximately 12 hours of classes per week. As a flight attendant, I averaged 120 hours of flight time per month. Our schedules were irregular and unpredictable. However, since the classes were online, I found time to fit them into my schedule.

I will not glorify the life of work and study. There were sacrifices I had to make.

This was an example of my daily schedule: I would land early in the morning in a new city and go to the hotel. Feeling tired, I sat down at a desk and focused on my homework. After spending hours on that day’s mission, the next thing I knew, it was time to go to bed. I would set an alarm for 5 a.m. to finish. Then it would be time to leave for the next flight.

I remember how much I wanted to see the Statue of Liberty in New York or visit Disneyland in California. However, since I had homework due, I didn’t do it I get distracted by the temptation to go out with colleagues to see new things.

Sometimes, when I didn’t have an assignment due, I had time to go out. But I knew that going out with my colleagues, people would want to visit the restaurants and then split the bills accordingly. I knew I couldn’t afford it, so I went to libraries and museums and spent time alone. For this reason, my colleagues often thought I was antisocial.

At the time, I also avoided social media because I found it too big of a diversion. He I often felt alonebut I have always been looking at the bigger picture. I told myself: I don’t need social media right now, and I don’t need to date people because what’s bigger right now is my dream.

My days off were dedicated to internships

As part of earning my degree, I had to complete 250 hours of professional experience through clinical placements. So I dedicated my days off to completing my three clinical rotations.

I completed my Masters in Counseling at Monash University last year. After 6 years at Singapore AirlinesI left in February and moved to Sydney a week later.

Eager to continue my studies, I applied to the University of Sydney and was awarded a scholarship. I am currently pursuing a second master’s degree in social work.

Looking back on my experience as a flight attendant, I discovered different aspects of humanity while traveling to different parts of the world. I saw drug addicts on the street in San Francisco and starving children in the slums of Mumbai.

It got me thinking: how can I help people? This allowed me to confirm that I was planning a good career change.

These days, I post my journey on social media and get messages from people asking me how I studied while working.

This is what I tell them: the future is for you. Take advantage of the resources you have, and even if you don’t have many, you can multiply them with time and effort.

It certainly wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.

A Singapore Airlines representative did not respond to a request for comment from BI.