Being a chef is a career that is steeped in misinformation, myths and stereotyping meaning that an extremely skewered perspective of the industry is prevalent which in turn makes it so much more difficult to explain to potential students the various rewards and drawbacks working in this profession.
Perhaps one of the most important issues to address is that being a chef is far from an easy career to sustain on a long term, permanent basis and this is evidenced by the extremely high turnover rates associated with the business. A common joke cited in relation to the process involved in training to be a chef is that at least the Army allows you to stand at ease every so often, whereas a chef never rests.
What makes being a chef so challenging is that the chef is not just involved in the preparation and cooking of food but will have other duties as well, such as the cleaning of the kitchen area, organising the ingredients for cooking along with managing the personnel who are milling around. All of this may not sound too hard to manage to the casual observer but when you factor in the fact that they have to contend with all of these at the same time whilst having to cope with the extremely hot as well as noisy nature of a kitchen, it takes on a whole new perspective!
Injuries are not uncommon in kitchens, the small cramped nature of them as well as the presence
of so many different people milling around at the same time means that burns, scrapes, and other injuries are part of the job description. A kitchen is an extremely stressful place to be and so factor this in before you commit yourself.
A common issue cited in relation to being a chef is that they are not paid very much, this is a matter of perspective, and again only you will be able to ascertain whether the adverse working conditions and workload you will be responsible for is compensated enough with your salary. Currently within the USA, a commis chef or junior chef (which is the entry position for a newly qualified chef and where they will learn the requisite skill base) the average salary clocks in around the $20,000 mark.
At the other extreme of the pay scale, the Executive chef can expect to earn in excess of $70,000 per year, although this can jump quite significantly dependant upon experience and the place you work.
One great advantage of cooking is that you will be able to travel the world all in the name of improving your career, as you will learn the various different cuisine styles from across the world. If you can find the necessary amount of capital, you can always try setting up your very own eating establishment and incorporate these exotic styles in your restaurant. There is always the possibility of media ventures and events including photo shoots and perhaps even your own TV show.
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