Salary Information for Culinary Arts Careers
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Culinary Arts Career Salaries
Culinary Career Salaries
Salaries for chefs or head cooks vary widely, depending on a variety of factors. Your work environment is one of them. Fine dining restaurants usually pay some of the highest wages. Other high-paying employers include hotels, resorts and individuals who hire private chefs. Institutional cafeterias, casual or fast food restaurants, and cruise ships tend to be among the lowest paying employers.
Aside from your work environment, your education level, previous work experience and geographic location will also determine your earning potential.
Culinary Graduate Salaries
Your degree or diploma will certainly give you an advantage over non-culinary school graduates. Across all fields, bachelor's degree holders earn almost twice as much as those with only a high school diploma, according to the US Census Bureau.
Average Pay Ranges
The table below shows the average annual earnings of the middle 50% of restaurant and hospitality employees.*
Job Title Annual Earnings of Middle 50% Cooking Assistant $23,096 - 28,862 Executive Chef $55,976 - 85,328 Executive Pastry Chef $45,610 - 68,326 Food Scientist $48,289 - 73,410 Hotel Manager $64,926 - 119,094 Line Cook $19,280 - 25,229 Restaurant Manager $36,778 - 53,916 Sous Chef $31,977 - 49,745
* HR Data as reported by Salary.com in May, 2008.
School Spotlight
With top facilities and learning tools, and a faculty including many world-renowned chef-instructors, The French Culinary Institute has become known as the premier cooking school for aspiring chefs. Study the culinary arts at The French Culinary Institute's New York City campus.
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