Externship question here

[spitfire]

Hi all. As I continue my research of culinary schools (planning on attending in the Fall), I've come across a couple [reputable] schools that don't have externship programs. I was under the impression that externships are somewhat standard practice. So is OK not to have one if the school's post-grad placement is 100%? I'm just ironing out my marketability once I graduate with my A.S. degree. Thanks for any comments.

[Greg]

My opinion is that if a school doesn't offer you any practical, real world experience, that school is worthless. What the 100% placement stat doesn't tell you is how long the graduate spent in that position. However, if it's a good school and you think you can hook yourself up as far as practical experience goes, then maybe that school would be a good choice, albeit somewhat of a gamble.

[Suzanne]

Some schools do not have externship programs because they have their own restaurants, and cooking for the restaurant is part of the program. FCI is one of those. So it may be that the schools you refer to fall in that category. Even so, I'm not sure that's as good as an externship -- to me it sounds more like the simulations we did at the school I attended.

I agree with Greg about the stated placement rate. But I doubt any school will be able to tell you how long graduates stay in their first position, how long they stay in the business, or what they're doing five years after graduation. Maybe because if prospective students found out, they'd never apply in the first place. Besides, it's difficult and expensive to gather those data, and in any case they still don't take everything important into account.

Take a good look at the places those 100% of graduates go to. Do they look to you like places where you can both continue to learn -- to broaden your knowledge base -- and have good chances for advancement? Again, as Greg said, they could be worth the gamble.

[spitfire]

Much thanks for the great feedback! You've definitely reinforced my thoughts re: the strong benefits of an externship (which is why I posted my question), but I also realize it's not necessarily a make-or-break thing if the school handles it right. Seems it's basically a matter of personal choice because the schools in question wouldn't be as reputable as they are if their program wasn't successful. Is my thinking correctly, or am I OVERthinking it (haha).

Thanks again.