[Thelonious]

Greetings to all!
I am new to the forum and I'm wondering if anyone can maybe relay some advice or some of their experiences. I have been going to community college off and on for some time now. It has taken me some time to figure out what I want to do. Over the last 5 years, I have been cooking and I really enjoy it and I think it is something I really want to do. Cooking is something that I really have a passion for. In order for me to do this, I am going to have to quit my job and focus on actually doing what I love and it's cooking. I'm not looking for anyone to tell me what to do, but rather mayber offer some advice or presonal experineces they may have gone through that may be similar to my situation or stuff. Sometimes I feel apprehensive because I probably will be making a carrer change, not having a steady paycheck anymore, stuff like that. Thanks

[miklosb]

I hear ya Thelonious!!
I just turned 40, starting week 6 of a 13 month culinary program in Quebec
(five nights a week, from 5pm to 10pm or whenever we finish washing up).
Working full time and my present employer has no idea.
Get up at 5:30 am, pack my lunch and dinner, out the door by 7am, at work 7:20 (with no snow or traffic).
Leave work at 4pm, get to school by 4:20 (again, with no snow or traffic).
Switch "mode's" depending on which chef we have as a teacher. Do the labs, listen to the lectures, do the quizzes, do the tests, clean the uniforms, bite my tongue and not kill some of the slackers. Wash the pots, don’t kill slackers, wash the pots, don’t hurt the slackers, wash the pots, it’s okay to fantasize about killing the slackers.
Put up with not going out during the week for a year.
Put up with not having much of a social life for the time being.
My weekends are spent with experimenting in my kitchen, cleaning up the apartment, resting , catching up on my sci-fi shows I've missed and being mesmerized by watching Nigella Lawson. Cook for friends/family, not because they ask me to but because I want to!
Think about working hard for low pay….and of the pay I’ll loose when I quite my job to pursue professional cooking..(ohh....just imagined wacking a slacker with a pot, now I have to wash the pot again)..
Tired by Thursday night, second wind on Friday.
I can’t believe it’s already the 6th week!!!!!
AND I WOULD NOT CHANGE A THING!!!
(except I’ll imagine hitting the slacker with a dirty pot first so I just have to clean it once).
This will be my 3rd career change. No regrets, no looking back, I feel extremely confident in my decisions, life is what you make it, you want it? Then go and get it!!!
Am I ranting???

[Thelonious]

Thanks for the reply. Your not ranting. Sometimes you have to get it off your chest. It's been a hard road trying to decide what to do. Hearing about other students issues and concerns are helpful. Good luck with your program.

[joepiebaker]

Well, out of high school, I wanted to be an artist, then a photojournalist, then a chef, then a graphic designer (got a degree in that). Then out of college, I decided I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in a cubicle. I went back to what i knew: pizza. Hated the hours (9am-midnight some days), hated the boss. So I applied to be a baker's assistant. And... I LOVE IT!!

I've learned so much from working in a bakery! I make pies, and before Thanksgiving the baker told me that I'll soon be sick of pies, but after making about 300 pies Thanksgiving week, I still love pies. On productive days I either make 20 pies or 250 gingerbread men. Lots of fun.

I'd like to, someday, open up my own deli/bakery. A real NYC deli with huge, sloppy sandwiches and fresh bread. Perhaps I'll learn how to make great bagels.

[chef4fun]

I am in the same situation, so I love reading this stuff. I am a career changer, currently in a cubicle (boring). I will take my first few classes in January (pastry class and nutrition). I am just as nervous switching careers but have decided to dive in and go to school. I sold my hair salon at the beginning of this year to change careers. I know that office work isn't my thing and I have been wanting to try the cilinary field for about 5 years now. Keep up the posts, and I will let yall know how my classes are going.