how long did it take you to make a living wage?

[RSteve]

Originally Posted by AngeliaB

Im just saying that i really enjoy the job i have at the moment because its allowing me to grow more into my cooking skills.

That's great, just so long as you view this as an educational opportunity. But keep in mind, once you start endlessly replicating the same products over and over, your growth process is running a distant last. Your boss will want your best signature product over and over, because it's profitable. Know when it's time to move on. Timing is very important to your success.

[AngeliaB]

very very true

[cheftobe'swife]

I'm sorry, but I can't keep reading posts by this Steve guy and not speak up. What a jerk. I'm unsure why he gets off on being the "expert" and telling people who are genuinely happy with their job and pay that they shouldn't be! Wow! Bottom line: being a chef/cook doesn't pay much. Do it if you love it. Stop defending yourself against the know-it-alls on this forum.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by cheftobe'swife

I'm sorry, but I can't keep reading posts by this Steve guy and not speak up. What a jerk. I'm unsure why he gets off on being the "expert" and telling people who are genuinely happy with their job and pay that they shouldn't be! Wow! Bottom line: being a chef/cook doesn't pay much. Do it if you love it. Stop defending yourself against the know-it-alls on this forum.

Please keep the direct insults to a minimum. And by minimum, I mean don't do it.

[oldschool1982]

Living wage hmmmmmm. By comparison to my wife there was only one point of my career that we made the same money and that was just for a short time. By the end of my career and with what I am worth today she crushes the $hit outta me, and that's with somewhat equal levels of education and training. Guess I shoulda been an accountant.

So I would have to say it depends on what you consider living?

When I was a struggling line cook, living to me was making bills and having enough left for beers. Owning a home, raising a daughter, hobbies or saving for the future were not in my vocabulary. Yet I was happy for the most part. When I "gradiated to the third grade".... There just was never and never seems to be enough. It seems that my ambition and our needs go well beyond the scale. Then reality set in. I had to learn the job pays what it pays. Nothing more....but usually always less. So you make sacrifices. Also the/these job(s) are being fought for by more than just yourself. How's that supply and demand theory work? If anyone needs an example just look at the gas pump next time you fill up.

As someone just mentioned, these jobs don't pay much and brother they ain't kidding! I've said it before in other posts... In this business "Ya gotta Love it!". You're gonna work your butt off and for little pay, this is where the nobel part comes into view. So you end up doing the best you can, each and every day. What other reason is there for dragging yourself outta bed every day at the crack of dawn and then not returning home until it's dark, again. It's sure not the pay not to mention the glowing personallities of your co-workers and or bosses. Either you have to find your own triumphs and make the best of them or you're gonna end up with some form of co-dependancy. You learn to accept but not be complaicent

Acceptance doesn't mean that you roll over and take what the "Boss" deems as acceptable pay. This is wher the not being complaicent part kicks in. You still have do the job as best as you can and still put up a fight and hope that if ya don't get what ya ask for your efforts and actions will provide you proof in your favor. (NOT!)

Your boss is no different than you are or will be with the people under you. We all try to get as much as we can for what we pay. Funny this isn't just isolated to the workplace. It's the "bang for your buck" theory. We all want more for less.

Personally and just my opinion.... I'll pay more to get it right but I have my limits. As far as compensation or at least the expectation of such, things have gotten to the point of being ludicrious. Now I will yield to the fact that, in the restaurant industry, wages 20yrs ago were far better than they are today (relatively speaking) and this is a cry'n shame. Wish I could change it but I can't and the sad reality is, like I already said, the job pays what it pay's.

As a society we have an over inflated sense of personal worth. We all want to dictate our terms and make things worth more than they actually are. This is directed entirely at the "Club" (former CEO's, Home Depot for example, that recieve a $250,000,000.00 severence check) or those over-paid, trained circus performers (athletes, media, entertainment, etc...) we watch on any given weekend. They set the level of the bar and then scream "Bloody murder" when when you try to ask for just a fair share.

Looks like I've just taken the long way around with a detour on the soap box to say that a living wage seems to have become almost a subjective** concept.

The old advice of "keeping the nose to the grindstone" isn't bad by any stretch. It'll just take a little longer than other methods. Anything work having is worth waiting for. Creates better understanding and ability to teach others.



**4 a (1) : peculiar to a particular individual : PERSONAL <subjective judgments> (2) : modified or affected by personal views, experience, or background c : arising out of or identified by means of one's perception of one's own states and processes

[YoungGun]

This may sound bad to the traditional, hard-working pros out there who busted their asses for $8/hr (or scarier, an 80-hour week on salary), but I think alot of it is how you market yourself.

Are you an intelligent, well-spoken, good-mannered and presentable person? If so, you'll get alot farther than you would without those skills.

Quite frankly, the Executive Chefs and others earning huge money (celebrity chefs, for example, or food critics) are rarely the absolute most talented chef out there. They're the ones who understand that a Chef is a businessman as well, not just an artist. If you value the traditional European way of being devoted entirely to your craft, you'll sacrifice your family, your salary, and your time. For some "true chefs," it's worth it.

But if you want to make money...

Dress the part. You don't see CEOs walking around in sweats with greasy hair. Make sure your uniform is clean, hair is groomed, nails are cut, etc. Cover up any tattoos and take out any piercings unless you're working somewhere really hip.

If the owners are around, pay attention to how they interact with people. Watch your Sous Chefs and the Exec if he or she is there. Watch the GM. They've probably all learned how to work the business end. Keeping your head down and doing the work gets you somewhere, but lifting your head up to network when the Exec comes in or to find a place to help out the Sous gets you promoted.

Kudos,

YoungGun

[AtlTournant]

Originally Posted by YoungGun

This may sound bad to the traditional, hard-working pros out there who busted their asses for $8/hr (or scarier, an 80-hour week on salary), but I think alot of it is how you market yourself.

Are you an intelligent, well-spoken, good-mannered and presentable person? If so, you'll get alot farther than you would without those skills.


But if you want to make money...

Dress the part. You don't see CEOs walking around in sweats with greasy hair. Make sure your uniform is clean, hair is groomed, nails are cut, etc. Cover up any tattoos and take out any piercings unless you're working somewhere really hip.

If the owners are around, pay attention to how they interact with people. Watch your Sous Chefs and the Exec if he or she is there. Watch the GM. They've probably all learned how to work the business end. Keeping your head down and doing the work gets you somewhere, but lifting your head up to network when the Exec comes in or to find a place to help out the Sous gets you promoted.

Kudos,

YoungGun

Give yourself another few years in the industry and you'll be singing a different tune.It isn't that cut-and-dry.

Sure,it's nice to believe that helping the sous/Exec will get you promoted,but it can also get you taken advantage of because they know you'll do the extra work and they can save on labor.Been there,done that,private and corporate.

Was I more respected? Sure.Did I get more money? No.Not if the budget didn't allow it because the Exec's bonus was based on how much they saved on labor/food costs for a fiscal year...or if someone else with seniority [and a lesser work ethic] was in line for a raise.


I wish it were as simplistic as being intelligent,professional,well-spoken and hard-working,but it isn't.This isn't always a fair business and you don't always get rewarded for what you do.Go work for Ritz-Carlton and you'll see what I mean.At both R.C's here in the Atlanta area,employees pay $150 a month to park their cars...no raise to make up for the money you lose,either.And if it's the slow season when you're only working less than 25 hours a week,they don't care.It's your problem,not theirs.

You can wait up to a year or more for a position to open so you can make a whopping 50 cents more an hour;they don't create one for you because you deserve it.And you have to be approved to apply for the position;you don't automatically get it.

While your advice is good,it's a little unrealistic.

[thetincook]

As far as making money goes...

In the few places I've worked, it seemed like the guys who made more then the rest of the crew were the guys who were studs on the egg station, or the guys who could do ice and fruit carvings.

Edit: One of my chefs from Culinary used to work in contract managment for a bunch of secure government complexes. Apperently these guys made bank, because they could only work if they qualified for a security clearence and all the drug testing. IIRC, the dishwashers started at ~$15/hr and this was a while back.

[YoungGun]

Originally Posted by AtlTournant

Sure,it's nice to believe that helping the sous/Exec will get you promoted,but it can also get you taken advantage of because they know you'll do the extra work and they can save on labor.Been there,done that,private and corporate.

Was I more respected? Sure.Did I get more money? No.Not if the budget didn't allow it because the Exec's bonus was based on how much they saved on labor/food costs for a fiscal year...or if someone else with seniority [and a lesser work ethic] was in line for a raise.


I wish it were as simplistic as being intelligent,professional,well-spoken and hard-working,but it isn't.This isn't always a fair business and you don't always get rewarded for what you do.Go work for Ritz-Carlton and you'll see what I mean.At both R.C's here in the Atlanta area,employees pay $150 a month to park their cars...no raise to make up for the money you lose,either.And if it's the slow season when you're only working less than 25 hours a week,they don't care.It's your problem,not theirs.

You can wait up to a year or more for a position to open so you can make a whopping 50 cents more an hour;they don't create one for you because you deserve it.And you have to be approved to apply for the position;you don't automatically get it.

ATL I was simply saying that it's one of the most valuable skills one can posses to put themself above everyone else with brilliant cooking prowess. Also, when you're speaking about unionized establishments (or based on union) like RC, there are totally different rules. I was assuming from this post that he was talking a normal restaurant job, seeing as almost nobody in the RC makes only $8/hr. So as far as freestanding restaurants go, it definitely does pay to communicate and put yourself out there. It always provides more responsibility which, even if you don't get more money upfront, provides you with skill to move up eventually, even if into another establishemennt. And if the chef likes you, you have a shot at getting promoted. If he doesn't, you stay a dishwasher forever. Period.

And on another note,

In every business, people stick their necks out just a bit further for those whom they like personally. And as for me, I never waited around for raises. I was always looking for any way I could to get promoted. A $1/hr pay raise in addition to a position with more responsibility is a way better thing to strive for than a $0.25 raise for the same old, same old. What I'm saying is, bust your ***.

And...If there's no room to move up where you are, leave. Really, what's the point in making the same salads for 2 years with no hope of advancement? As someone said above, knowing when to leave is another very important skill.