by CourseAdvisor

Recent reports indicate that a culinary career means a healthy future. Purdue University's 2006 National Survey of Post Secondary American Culinary Career Programs found that the restaurant industry is hiring more than 90 percent of all culinary school graduates.

Value of a Culinary Career Apprenticeship
The high number may be influenced as much by the hands-on experience many grads bring to their culinary career as by the growth in the industry itself. Seventy-three percent of culinary schools surveyed by Purdue's hospitality researchers required students to fulfill an internship in a working restaurant and, as in the days of apprenticeship, this professional familiarity with the job appears to pay off for both grads and new employers. Chefs and restaurant operators reported that new hires from culinary schools tend to demonstrate realistic expectations, including the understanding that there's still a lot to learn. This respect for the profession is both noted and appreciated by industry veterans.

"Restaurants touch millions of lives every day by serving quality meals, providing abundant career and employment opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds, and being a driving force in the U.S. economy and local communities nationwide."
-Steven C. Anderson, president and chief executive officer of the National Restaurant Association.

Steady Income and Steady Employment in a Culinary Career
What kind of income can a culinary school graduate anticipate? Purdue University's 2006 Survey reported a starting salary range of $15,000 to $35,000, averaging almost $24,000 a year for a culinary career. Sixty-eight percent of the surveyed schools offered Associate's degrees in culinary and related arts and sciences, and 44 percent held American Culinary Federation accreditation, with the remainder holding accreditation from a range of other agencies.

Judging from the National Restaurant Association's Economic Forecast for 2007, published at the end of last year, pursuing a culinary arts degree is looking like a good investment. Food service employment opportunities are expected to number nearly 13 million this year, with two more million restaurant and hospitality jobs being added over the next decade.

They will be needed, because Americans are apparently spending almost 50 percent of their food budgets in restaurants, driving those sales towards a projected $530+ million in the year ahead! According to Steven C. Anderson, president and chief executive officer of the National Restaurant Association, "The restaurant industry will enter its 16th consecutive year of real growth in 2007, and will have a total economic impact that will exceed $1.3 trillion."

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Sources
1: Purdue University Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management 2006 National Survey of Post Secondary American Culinary Programs, as quoted in Nation's Restaurant News, 9/25/2006. 2: National Restaurant Association's 2007 Restaurant Industry Forecast, 12/12/2006. The National Restaurant Association, founded in 1919, is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 935,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a work force of 12.8 million employees - making it the cornerstone of the economy, career opportunities and community involvement. Along with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Association works to represent, educate and promote the rapidly growing industry.