Should I Go to College If I Want to Be a Chef?
A traditional liberal arts or sciences degree will not offer much help to a person perusing a career as a chef. Cooking is a trade, not an academic field of study. However, many aspiring chefs choose to attend culinary college as a means of training for their future careers. Culinary colleges have a number of different programs, generally ranging in length from one to three years, during which students study a range of types of food and culinary techniques. Although not mandatory, these programs can offer students a leg up in a very competitive field.
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Experience
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many chefs do not attend culinary college, but rather choose to gain an education from hands-on experience. Generally, this includes taking on a lower position in a kitchen, such as apprentice or line cook, and then working your way up in the culinary hierarchy. However, culinary schools can provide much of this same experience, without much of the drudge work that comes with a low-ranking job in the kitchen.
Cost
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According to the Atlantic Monthly, one of the main drawbacks of culinary college is the high cost of paying for lessons. At the Culinary Institute of America, one of the top culinary college in the world, the total cost of a 38-month program, including room and board, as of 2010, is approximately $100,000. Often, students will spend years paying off this debt.
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Considerations
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, chefs often earn very little money during the early part of of their careers. This can make it exceedingly difficult to pay off the debts accrued during culinary college. According Daniel Humm, the executive chef of Eleven Madison Park, which received a four star rating from the New York Times, this means that culinary school may not make a lot of financial sense to some people.
Benefits
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The main benefit of attending a culinary college, besides the training it gives students, is that it tells potential employers that the person has a baseline level of competence in the kitchen. If a person has passed a rigorous educational program, this means that he is certainly able to accomplish a number of basic tasks. This can be crucial in helping a student land a first job.
Expert Insight
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According to chef Alan Bickel, writing for the food website The Reluctant Gourmet, unlike many other professional degrees, a degree from a culinary college will not guarantee you a job. In most cases, a graduate will still have to work hard to find a job and have to prove themselves in the kitchen. While the degree may give them a leg up on the competition, it's not a replacement for real-world experience.
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