How is the life of the first Vietnamese actress to become a pilot now?

Dieu Thuy, born in 1989, is known as the first Vietnamese actress to become a pilot. She impressed with her roles in many famous films such as: Slope of fog, Legend of 1C, Black money, Across the river, Stormy lives...

When her acting career was on the rise, Dieu Thuy suddenly stopped acting. In 2013, after graduating from university, she became a safety engineer at a company in Binh Duong. Then, with the desire to do jobs related to the aviation industry, Dieu Thuy became a flight attendant for an airline in Dubai. More than 2 years later, she took the pilot exam in Vietnam and then went to the US to practice. Dieu Thuy returned home and became one of the first female pilots of a famous airline.

Dieu Thuy is known as the first Vietnamese actress to become a pilot.

Decided to leave showbiz to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot

Dieu Thuy said that her journey to become a pilot was extremely difficult and arduous. To get to where she is today, she had to go through 9 years of hard work. As a student, like many other university students, Dieu Thuy had to work 3-4 jobs at the same time to have enough money to help her parents with part of her tuition and living expenses. She was lucky when she became an actress with many leading roles and big advertising contracts. She did not waste money but asked her sister to help manage her finances.

After graduating from university, and having spent a long time in the hustle and bustle of going to work in the morning and coming home at night, being the only HSE safety engineer at a company, taking responsibility for ensuring safety - environment - health for the production system of 11 thousand employees, she had almost no time to rest, Thuy suddenly thought of a job that allowed her to work and travel at the same time. From then on, she became a flight attendant for a five-star airline in Abu Dhabi (India) and cherished the dream of becoming a pilot.

While saving money and working hard, during her time abroad she continuously studied to improve her English, reviewed Math and Physics on her days off, and devoted a lot of effort to achieving her dream. The female pilot revealed that she spent nearly 6 billion VND, all the money she had saved, to learn to be a pilot, including nearly 3 billion VND for basic training and nearly 3 billion VND for long-distance Airbus conversion training.

Pilot Dieu Thuy shared:“During my time in school, I lived like a poor person, staying in cheap lodgings, eating frugal meals, saving every penny, because all my time was devoted to studying. The amount of knowledge I needed to learn was huge, the elimination rate was very high, not many people stuck with it and passed all the subjects. Meanwhile, my friends went to restaurants, drove supercars, but I was still happy to cycle 20 kilometers to and from school every day, buy cheap vegetables at the farmers market, and eat fish my friends caught in the river. I was grateful for every dollar I earned, so I never spent a penny.”

“But applying for a job is the most difficult stage of a pilot’s life. I submitted hundreds of applications, but less than 10 airlines responded. For an inexperienced pilot, applying to join an airline is truly a dream come true. There were times when I wanted to collapse, but I always pulled myself together and kept trying, not giving up. So who I am today is thanks to my own efforts and strength to overcome all difficulties.”, Dieu Thuy added.

But for her, the hardship is necessary and the results are completely worth her efforts. The female pilot shared:“I became strong, calm, and grateful for what I have. I am proud of myself for overcoming my fear when I knew the road ahead was extremely difficult when I decided to leave showbiz, to plunge into difficulties, and pursue my dream of becoming a pilot.”

There is no room for sentimentality and weakness in the cockpit.

To become a pilot, especially a female pilot, according to Dieu Thuy, sacrifice is very necessary. She said that a female pilot will often have to “sacrifice” beautiful skin and hair because this job “wears out” her physical and health a lot.

“Once you sit in the cockpit, there is no such thing as you being male, I am female. Regardless of whether you are a woman or a man, you must train to be physically healthy to go to work. In particular, you must always be strong and calm. In the cockpit, there is no room for sentimentality and weakness. Once you have your briefcase and go flying, there is no difference between male and female pilots.”said the female pilot.

Dieu Thuy believes that the difference between men and women when working as pilots is that when female pilots become mothers, they are not allowed to fly during pregnancy. After giving birth, they will have to retrain, sacrifice part of their work time to take care of their children, take care of their family and vice versa, but she has mentally prepared herself to welcome the future with the most excited mindset that nature has bestowed on a woman in the future. For her, being a woman is a blessing.

The working hours of a female pilot like Dieu Thuy are quite special. Whether it is a flight in the early morning at 2-3am or late at night at 10-11pm, she always gets at least 6 hours of sleep, prepares a light meal for herself, reviews documents and flight plans before going to bed. 3 hours before take-off, she must prepare a clean uniform, have a light meal, and check all necessary equipment and documents for work. After that, the female pilot will be at the office 2 hours before take-off to discuss the mission with colleagues. And be at the plane at least 1 hour before take-off.

“My working day can be half a day, it can be a long day, it can be several days. While working, in addition to focusing on completing the job well, I always feel happy when my colleagues are happy, people come and go busily. There will be very stressful days and very happy days, but every day I go to work, I am happy and grateful,”The female pilot added.

Overcoming career and marriage challenges

The female pilot said that 2020 and 2021 were two difficult years for her. When the pandemic broke out, most of the airline staff, including pilots like her, were "unemployed". At this time, Dieu Thuy had to face and overcome the pain of a broken marriage, a stagnant career, and no bright spots. She said that she had spent all her savings on studying to be a pilot, and long-distance training had no income, so the financial problem made the female pilot even more stressed.

“Applying for a job is probably the most difficult stage in a pilot’s life, especially for inexperienced pilots. And once again, the pandemic has pushed most pilots into that experience once more,”Pilot Dieu Thuy shared.

In the face of changes in her work and marriage, the female pilot said she remained optimistic and steadfast in facing them. She shared:“I learned to be grateful, grateful for life bringing events and challenges so that I can have this inner strength. Every day, I take care of my spirit and so I gradually become happier. In the face of what happens, I am still ready to accept it, grateful for being healthy, my family is still by my side, I am so lucky.”

Currently, 2022 can be said to be a prosperous year for Dieu Thuy. She has found more joy in her career and personal life. Recently, the image of her wearing a wedding dress shared on her personal Facebook has attracted a lot of attention from the audience.

“For me, it is not that adversity chooses you unfairly, but your attitude towards it that determines your future. Accept adversity as an obstacle you need to overcome, because the result after that can be wonderful,”Dieu Thuy said.