‘Free flights with $23 an hour’: Ramp agent says it’s the ‘easiest job in the world’
In a viral TikTok, an airport ramp agent highlighted the perks of his job, including salary and qualifying for free flights.
In the video, user Easton (@eastonnsmithh) appears to be filming during his downtime on the job. He's wearing a bright orange vest and sitting in a cargo cart with his foot on the belt used to load and unload cargo. In the background, you can see he's on airport grounds where the planes sit.
Easton refers to being a ramp agent as the "easiest job in the world."
He says his days consist of waiting for planes, unloading baggage, and cleaning the aircraft. He says he typically does this five times a day.
Easton says he liked the job because, in addition to being easy, he makes $23 an hour—for context, the current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour—and gets to fly free.
"Easy money," he says in the caption.
In addition to the responsibilities Easton listed, a ramp agent also marshals aircrafts and monitors customer safety as they board and deplane. This is a 24-hour day position that has day and night time shifts. Ramp agents can be employed by the airport, a vendor, or directly through an airline, Indeed reports.
It appears ramp agents who are employed directly by an airline are who have access to free flights.
In a comment, Easton explained that while he gets a certain amount of paid time off, he can take unpaid time off as he pleases to enjoy the free travel perk.
The typical salary for a ramp agent is between $24,000 and $38,000 a year, with the average hourly rate being $14.77, according to Zippia. Ramp agents are paid the most, on average, in Minnesota, Washington, Montana, Illinois, and Oregon.
@eastonnsmithh easy money #fyp #foryou #fypシ #viral ♬ original sound - Rap central 😮💨
Easton's TikTok, which looks to be the first on his page, has nearly 700,000 views and more than 1,000 comments.
Several ramp agents and airport employees shared their thoughts about the job in Easton's comment section.
"Don’t let them in on the method bro, 8 hour shift I might work 2 and half hours and the rest is basically a break," one person said.
"I make 35 here in LA and I do it for delta," another wrote.
"I knew said gate agents usually quit after a few months, since they froze in the winter and their shoes melted in summer," an airport employee shared.
Others had varying thoughts on the pay. Some expressed that $23 an hour was too low while others shared it was higher than what they made.
"Depends on location, only 15 an hour in upstate New York," a person commented.
"Bump it up to $35 and it sounds decent," another chimed in.
"Where are you getting 23 an hour i get 13," a third commenter shared.
The Daily Dot reached out to Easton via Instagram direct message.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘Free flights with $23 an hour’: Ramp agent says it’s the ‘easiest job in the world’ appeared first on The Daily Dot.