# your life as a line cook



## gnnairda (Aug 7, 2009)

How did you guys survive during your years as a linecook? after working a couple jobs here I learned somethings.

1) It's a lot of fun 

2)your social life goes down the drain

3) almost no time or tired to cook at home

4) s*** pay.

the last 3 facts I've learned worries me about the future like If I suddenly had to raise a family.

Might sound a little silly from a guy that isnt even dating to even worry about raising a family but my worse nightmare would be if I'm 30 years old working 65 hr/ week getting payed 15$ with a child and a spouse. I would have no time to raise the child and financially I could get through buy barely get by. I find that taking the path of a cook is taking an all or nothing gamble on my life .


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## ras1187 (Oct 3, 2006)

What place pays cooks $15/hr right off the bat?  Set that bar even lower

Working in a kitchen has actually increased my social life..After-work drinks and then 4am breakfast with the crew is just awesome.

I really wouldn't recommend this life for someone in the process of raising a family.  Not that it is impossible, but I've seen many marriages crumble and I have suffered my own personal relationship issues because of the long and unstables of hours put into this industry.

If I were to have a gameplan... it would be to enjoy single life as a cook, then once you get a better paying position, start thinking about a family.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

gNnairdA said:


> .....Might sound a little silly from a guy that isnt even dating to even worry about raising a family but my worse nightmare would be if I'm 30 years old working 65 hr/ week getting payed 15$ with a child and a spouse. I would have no time to raise the child and financially I could get through buy barely get by. I find that taking the path of a cook is taking an all or nothing gamble on my life..... .


A line cook is only a transition stage, either you move on to Chef, or you move on to

an enitrely different field


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## gunnar (Apr 3, 2008)

to be honest this industry isn't any harder then some technical fields like networking where you have to come in at midnight to do a server push to the company network or  manual fields of labor. While you don't make as much as say a crab fisherman your not on a boat for a month at a time or you can pull 12-14 hours a day, as I have, as a Lineman climbing phone poles and rigging services for the most ungrateful people you will ever meet. Or get up at 4 am to go do roofing or some other crappy construction job. 

Breakfast and lunch cooks have the golden job in this industry, good hours and good pay if you know what your doing.

Most people focus on the "glamorous" dinner service and the late night hours of a dinner cook or (heaven forbid) Late night Club cook. Don't get sucked up in stereotypes. Learn your job and become a valuable resource and you will find opportunities as you go.


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## chefboyarg (Oct 28, 2008)

Let's just hope your spouse is a doctor right? /img/vbsmilies/smilies//wink.gif

Though it is a relatively tough field to be involved in I also find it one of the most rewarding. As was mentioned above, cooking on the line is a transitional period, ultimately leading to chefdom. As Gunnar mentioned you aren't limited to the glorious life of the dinner/late night cook or even to the independently owned restaurants. Those who work for hotels (up here anyway) tend to get: a) good money and b) ben-e-fits. So I would say if you are planning on spawning pick up a job as a hotel cook or something. You will find your social life will start to center more around the people you work with/have worked with in the past. As for cooking at home, I totally agree. After work today I stopped in at a pizza place and grabbed a slice then stopped in at a shawarma shop and got 2 donairs. On my days off I tend to do some cooking though. Gotta stay sharp.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

I might also add that cooking on a line need not be a transitional situation.

Many people are very happy being lines cook their entire career.

It all depends on what rocks your boat.


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