Become a Culinary Arts Major: Cook Your Way Out of Job Woes
By the All Culinary Schools career research team—Your source for Culinary School news, trends and programs.
There's never been a better time to be a culinary arts major—just ask the growing number of aspiring chefs that fill cooking classrooms each day throughout the United States. Though many of these students are embarking on a career for the first time, a surprisingly large number are also returning to school.
During a time when economic woes have reduced employment seekers' certainty about finding and keeping jobs, it can be a good idea to take stock of one's goals and consider going to college. A lifelong passion—cooking, for instance—can be turned into a rewarding and fulfilling new career. Clearly, more and more people are doing just that; enrollment at Le Cordon Bleu culinary schools alone is up more than 20 percent this year, according to an ABC News report. At American River College in Sacramento, California, there are 25 percent more students in the Culinary Arts major than last year.
The restaurant industry as a whole employs 13 million people, and job openings are expected to remain plentiful. However, competition will be stiff for the most desirable positions. If your goal is to be a head chef at one of the nation's top eateries, a solid culinary education can give you a leg up on your career and ensure that you'll rise beyond your starting entry-level position. Aspiring chefs who opt to enroll in a local cooking school or community college as a culinary arts major will learn fundamental cooking skills and the basics of food preparation, as well as kitchen equipment use, nutrition, food storage procedures and more.
More than 200 academic programs are accredited by the American Culinary Federation, so it's important to research which program is right for your personal career goals. If you're returning to school because of an unexpected layoff, don't forget to research your options for financial aid—both federal and state dollars are available in the form of loans for career retraining.
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