This can help you decide which jobs are more worth focusing on and which ones you will really have to step up your game in order to qualify for.
By 2000, the food workers in the culinary industry made up about 2.
8 million jobs in the U.
S.
economy.
Today, these same numbers are said to have grown significantly.
Here is a breakdown of these jobs:
- Food preparation workers -- 844,000
- Restaurant cooks -- 668,000
- Fast food cooks -- 522,000
- Institutional and Cafeteria cooks -- 465,000
- Short order cooks -- 205,000
- Chefs and head cooks -- 139,000
- Private household cooks -- 5,200
With the recovering economy, Americans are also now more willing to spend money in restaurants, further supporting the culinary arts.
However, pastry chefs and bakers are facing some job cuts due to advanced technology in production equipment.
Yet, jobs in wholesale baking are expected to jump in the near future.
The personal chef industry is also favorable projected in terms of growth.
If your culinary school instructors know anything about the culinary arts industry, they will tell you how chaotic it can be.
However, it is hard to fully understand this without experiencing it firsthand.
Culinary school kitchens may allow you too much time and flexibility for you to grasp how a real kitchen works.
They also tend to be friendlier environments than professional kitchens.
It's important to know that assertiveness, stellar communication skills, a thick skin and a dead-serious attitude are all essential to surviving in a professional kitchen.
Another trend that affects jobs is the dwindling popularity of fast foods.
This will decrease the number of short order cooks as well but will possible increase job opportunities for specialized, highly trained chefs for upscale cuisine.