If the sweet aroma of rising bread and the magical puff up of cookies delightfully stimulate your senses and provoke you to bake with passion, and your most joyful and memorable times in the kitchen involve decorating cakes, frosting cookies and piping sweet pastries with chocolate and cream fillings, then you should probably consider a career in the bakery and pastry industry. That being said however, there is a big difference between spending your free time baking your family's favorite recipe at home, and working on a daily basis-at least eight hours shift-in a fast paced commercial kitchen. While you may enjoy both, still, there are certain requirements that you need to carefully reflect on before footing a step into the baking industry so as to ensure success and career satisfaction. The requirements are:
- Physical Strength: in contrary to what many people think, working in the baking industry is physically demanding. Whether you are planning to become a pastry chef, baker, caterer or even bakery manager, you should expect to lift heavy bakery equipment and tools, handle very large bags of baking ingredients and/or operate large industrial mixing machines and bakery ovens as part of your job duties.
- Endurance: if you decide to work in the baking industry, you should expect to spend long hours on your feet, working in a very quick paced environment. You may also be required to work shifts, starting at an early morning hour, usually 3:00 am or 4:00 am. You should also expect to work late evenings, on the weekends and during holidays.
- Attention to details: although baking and pastry field is thought of as an art form of study by many, it is partially science too. Using accurate measuring is necessary for achieving successful baking results. Small changes made while measuring ingredients in any recipe can make or break a culinary creation. Similarly, forgetting a baking ingredient in a recipe may very well result in a product with sub par quality, leading to customer dissatisfaction and eventually affecting the business's reputation. Not to mention the fact that lots of pastries, cakes, pies and tarts require intricate kind of decorating and garnishing. Therefore, bakers and pastry chefs must be detail oriented, and pay close attention to their work, especially when performing multiple tasks at once.
- People Skills: as long as you have products to sell, there are always customers to buy. Some pastry chefs, bakers and bakery managers provide businesses with their baked and pastry products, while others serve their bread and confectioneries at their own bakery shops. If they are to build flourishing business, they need to have customer service and interpersonal skills. Moreover, because pastry chefs are responsible for the operations of entire kitchen, they also need to exhibit management, leadership and effective communication skills to ensure that kitchen's operations are running smoothly.
- Passion and Creativity: in order to succeed and climb up the ladder in this tough and very demanding industry, you've got to have passion for baking and pastry making. Bakers and pastry chefs in particular also need to have the artistic ability and creativity to produce visually appealing pastries and desserts that make customers feast with their eyes before eating the first bite.
- Education and/or Training: although a high school diploma can get you an entry level position in the baking industry, a growing number of candidates nowadays prefer to join community colleges, vocational and baking career schools, private culinary schools or four years universities and colleges to obtain the necessary culinary education and/or training, and thus boost their chances of securing the best, most competitive job opportunities in the industry. On the job training is the typical approach used for learning the necessary baking skills in this industry. Aspiring bakers and pastry chefs may receive training through apprenticeship and/or mentorship programs sponsored by baking industry associations, professional culinary schools, or some employers. If you decide to equip yourself with baking and pastry education and/or training, you need to take into consideration the following:
- Type of Baking and Pastry Programs You Are Looking For: although there are many baking and pastry programs available out there, you need to choose the program that best match your career goal. For example, if you are planning to complete your baking or pastry training quickly and join the industry workforce as soon as possible, a certificate or diploma programs would be your best choice. These kinds of programs are short in length (usually 1 year or less), more of a career oriented, and they concentrate on the hands on skills needed to obtain entry level positions in the baking industry. On the other hand, degree programs like associate and bachelor degree in baking and pastry arts field are longer in length, and tailored to discuss wider range of theoretical topics about the science of baking along side with hands on practice baking and pastry making. Although two year associate degree program or four year bachelor degree program in baking and pastry arts means more time to be devoted to your education, the higher the level of the baking program you choose to pursue, the more qualified you will become. You will be eligible for wide range of baking positions with good income potentials.
- Type of Baking and Pastry Schools You Are Aiming for: once you decide on the type of program you want to pursue, you need to carefully choose the type of baking schools that best match your career goal. That is, if you are planning to pursue a pastry chef certificate or a diploma program in baking and pastry arts, and graduate as fast as possible with the necessary hands on the job skills, a vocational and career school like the International Culinary Schools at the Arts Institutes would be your best option. Some stand alone culinary schools also provide job focused training programs. Examples of such schools include Kitchen Academy, Le Cordon Belu Academies, and French Culinary Institute. On the other hand, if you are leaning toward an associate or bachelor degree program in baking and pastry arts, universities and colleges offering culinary and hospitality programs like Johnson and Wales University would be your best choice.
- Baking and Pastry Schools Tuition: the cost of school tuition is an important issue for many students. Typically, the cost of school tuition depend on several factors including the type of program you choose to pursue, it's length, school location, and current status of the local market. Enrolling in culinary programs can be quite expensive, therefore, it is strongly recommended that you short list the baking schools you wish to consider and contact their representatives for financial aid. There are many culinary schools that offer domestic, federal, and private financial aid via scholarships, payment plans, government/organization grants, work-study programs and others. If you want your dream of attending the baking and pastry school to become a reality, we advise you to have a look at the financial aids offered by those schools, and apply for the ones that best fit your financial situation.
There are many career opportunities and different environments to work in within the baking and pastry industry. Common career paths include retail baker, commercial baker, bakery manager, caterer, pastry chef and/or pastry chef specialist such as chocolatier, cake decorator, dessert chef and candy maker. As for the work environments, baking positions can be sought after in bakeries, wedding cake shops, restaurants, grocery stores, schools, nursing homes, baking manufacturing facilities, airline companies, cruise ships, private homes and other places where baked goods are produced and served. Baking career opportunities include:
- Pastry Chef: in charge of overseeing the pastry section of commercial kitchen in which many bakers work under his/her supervision. Armed with an associate or bachelor degree in baking and pastry arts, graduates will be adequately prepared to hold sophisticated pastry chef positions within the baking industry. Pastry chefs are in charge of producing various kinds baked goods including bread, pastries, dessert and confections. Some may choose to specialize even more, and become expert at one facet of their profession. Specialized pastry chefs are either French Pastry Chef, Dessert Chef, Cake Decorator or Artist, Chocolatier or, Candy Maker.
- Baker: in charge of setting up bakery equipment and tools, measuring and mixing baking ingredients, kneading, rolling, shaping, baking and packaging various kinds of baked goods including cakes, bread, cookies, and other pastries. Bakers are divided into two types: retail, and commercial bakers. Retail Bakers work mainly in bakery shops and grocery stores, and produce small quantities of baked products that come in different flavors and sizes. Even though retail bakers' main job duties revolve around preparation and production of baked goods, they are also required to unload baking supplies and clean bakery equipment and their work area. Sometimes, they might be required to take orders from customers and serve them too. If the retail baker happens to operate his own bakery or specialty shop, in addition to the job responsibilities mentioned above, he/she also undertakes the responsibility of budgeting, setting baked goods' prices, ordering supplies, hiring, training and managing his/her employees. Commercial Bakers on the other hand, work mainly in baking manufacturing companies, in which large quantities of standardized baked goods are produced at a high speed. In these job settings, commercial bakers are in charge of operating automated, industrial-sized conveyors, ovens, mixing and blending machines while overseeing the whole baking process. Commercial bakers are obliged to monitor their work closely and follow instructions set for baking recipes and production schedule. No post-secondary education is required to obtain entry level job as a baker. Most bakers start their career as trainees or apprentices and learn the necessary baking and decorating skills on the job. That being said however, some candidates choose to join 1-2 year baking and pastry training programs offered by vocational schools, community colleges or some culinary schools before they start their baking career.
- Bakery Manager: responsible for managing the bakery's general activities such as ordering bakery supplies and equipment, keeping an aye over employees' work, setting work schedules, and marketing bakery's products. A bakery manager also need to have the essential skills, understanding and experience in baking cakes, pastries, and bread. More often than not, a bakery manager reach this managerial position after years of working experience as a baker or pasty chef. Although no educational requirement is needed to become a baker, holding baking management position requires a minimum of associate degree either in baking and pastry arts or culinary arts fields.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, career opportunities for bakers are likely to increase by 6% from 2012-2022. Studies have shown that bakers working in restaurants, grocery stores, retail and specialty bakeries have better employment growth and prospects than those working in baking manufacturing facilities due to the rapid increase of using automated machines and equipment in these facilities to mass- produce baked items. As for pastry chefs who fall under the chefs and head cooks category, employment is expected to increase by 5% within 2012 and 2022 period according to US Bureau. However, it should be noted that most of the forecasted job openings for this category are likely to result from the need to replace workers who turnover due the fact-based and competitiveness of this demanding industry. Annual earnings made, working in this industry may vary depending on several factors, including the level of baking position being held, level of education completed, industry experience reached, state, region and type of food service entity in which you are employed. Off course, the best job opportunities goes to skillful bakers and pastry chefs with long years of industry work experience, best culinary education, and specialization- working in major cities, recreation and resort areas. According to the US Bureau, the median annual income for bakers was $23,140 vs.$42,480 for chefs as of May 2012. Nonetheless, it should be indicated that skillful bakers and pastry chefs with years of industry experience and professional culinary training and education can earn more. While some bakers' income may exceed $36,980 per year, executive pastry chefs have the opportunity to earn more than $74,120 per year based on US Bureau statistics.
