# Vocational vs Junior College



## renrinken (Mar 17, 2009)

Hello I been wanting to go to college for Pastry for awhile know but I have issue money wise. I found out my near junior college offers Baking and Pastry for Associates in Arts. It seems very convenient for me sense its really cheap. 

I honestly dont know the first thing of what sort of degree I need to achieve to be a pastry chef. I am worry that this might be a BS degree that might not help me much and I would end up going back into a Vocational School that would be a good deal more.

What sort of education should I be aiming for ? Sorry that the thread being rather vague but I would appretiate any advise.


----------



## jtobin625 (Dec 16, 2008)

Before providing any advice, what schools are you considering? You can't really lump all vocational schools in one bracket and community colleges in another. All are not created equal.


----------



## renrinken (Mar 17, 2009)

Sense i am living in LA County I was looking at a few vocational schools like le cordon bleu in Pasadena but most vocational schools are around 28k a year which is severally out of my price range. The community college I was looking at is Cerritos College which seem to have a alright program and at a fraction of the price I would get at a Vocational school.


----------



## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

Have you worked at all in the industry?


----------



## renrinken (Mar 17, 2009)

Sadly not at all, I been trying to but job market is in the craper atm in my area. Most jobs get over 500 applicants and ones posted online over 2000 -.-


----------



## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

I wasn't necessarily talking about jobs that are advertised, I was thinking more along the lines of walking into a bakery/pastry shop and saying:

"Hi, I want to learn to be a baker/pastry cook. Is there something I can do to help you?"

You may not "get paid", at first, but you probably would get a chance to find out what it is like before you spend your hard-earned $$$


----------



## renrinken (Mar 17, 2009)

Volunteering ? I really never thought of that. I didnt think most bakeries accept volunteer work.


----------



## jtobin625 (Dec 16, 2008)

The way the food industry works is unlike a lot of other professions. Restaurant and bakery owners are willing to take people on for free. Just be a hard worker, cop no attitude, and listen to them and what they need from you. It helps them as you are a free employee that can help with the grunt work while you prove yourself to be trustworthy, but it also helps you to gain some experience. 

Before dropping 30k on an education, I would recommend working in the industry as well. 

The Cerriots program seems okay. Based on what I read, it's fairly short or appears short. They also have the Cerritos Cafe. Have you been there to eat? I would imagine it may be possible to talk to students that are in the program there. Every little bit can help. If you don't feel it is what you are looking for, it would be a waste of time and money even though it is less expensive.


----------



## renrinken (Mar 17, 2009)

I appretiate your help, think ill try to find a local bakery I can volunteer at. Sort of seems silly it never dawned on me to volenteer, sort of seems like a obvious decision.

I will try to research cerritos program a bit more as and see what the evaluation is.


----------



## rjx (Oct 2, 2006)

A CC can be great. It also depends on the student and how much they want to learn.

Read the book 'Becoming A Chef'
Amazon.com: Becoming a Chef: Andrew Dornenburg, Karen Page: Books


----------



## fast1 (Mar 28, 2009)

anybody else got the book? if there are great reviews, i will get the book


----------



## renrinken (Mar 17, 2009)

Actually I found the book at my local library. Its very good, I am slowly working my way through it sense I am not that much of a reader. You should check local libraries if your interested in the book.


----------



## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

This is to all the people who want to go to Chef Schools. Get a job in a fairly good place for at least 1 year before laying out all that $ ,then finding out you dont like it or cant handle the business.. This way you are getting paid for finding out you dont like it, not paying to find out. This is called logic.:bounce:


----------

