# Thinking about enrolling in culinary school.



## IoannisII (Jan 28, 2018)

I am thinking about enrolling in culinary school next year.I am 18 years old and I have been cooking for fun for the last 2 years.The only thing that I don't like is that I read a bunch of articles about ho chefs works extremely wrong hours ,they cant easily have a social or personal life etc.Is the industry actually like that or could I hope to be a chef and still have a balanced life outside the kitchen?
Thank you.


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## jimyra (Jun 23, 2015)

Welcome to Cheftalk. If working long hours, weekends, holidays, and very demanding tasks bothers you this may not be the profession for you. Did I mention for low pay. Many chefs however love the job and have a very successful balanced life outside the kitchen. There are jobs that are fewer hours. Many of the chains have limited hours. I would suggest getting a part time job in a commercial kitchen and get an inside look. Good luck, with any profession the more education you have the better off you will be.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

My suggestion would be to get a full time job in a restaurant for 2-3 years before deciding whether to attend culinary school. 2-3 years is just a blip when you consider that you will probably work 40 years or better in your lifetime. After 2-3 years you should have a better idea if you could see yourself in the same profession 40 years down the road. If the answer is yes, then enroll in culinary school and you will have a good head start over a lot of your classmates and be in better position to garner the most out of your education. Not only that, but when you graduate, you will already have a few of years of practical working experience in the industry which is of huge importance to potential employers when considering recently graduated prospects.


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## dc1346 (Nov 28, 2014)

There are options beyond working in restaurants. You could become a personal chef. You could work for a catering company. You could do what I did and become a Culinary Arts instructor _though if you go this route, most state certification programs will require you to at least have a Bachelor's degree.
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I've been a chef instructor of a high school Culinary Arts program for the past 12 years. Most evenings are my own. I get weekends off. With our school year in Nevada drawing to a close in just 2 more weeks, I'll be on a paid summer break for two months.


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