need help with a decision

[the_seraphim]

ok so at the moment im in a fairly nice, large kitchen... nice food, fair responsibilities... not too busy, not too quiet, good chance to learn how to cook real food, crap pay few hours...

i have 3 choices here....

1. try and survive at the low wage for longer until the hours pick up (im only doing 25 ish a week now)

2. split shifts and work at some of the other places in the chain to make up the hours

3. go and work at mcdonalds, ive been offered a fairly good deal... decent hours, better pay, prospects of good training and quick promotion and its about 100% closer to where i live its 10 minutes walking instead of 90 minutes fast walk



downsides

option 1 is unworkable, i really cant survive at this pay level

option 2... ive seen the other kitchens, small, crowded.... and messy staff...

option 3 seems good, but its going to be line work... i mean its mcdonalds... ill be on burgers or fries or whatever section, no real cooking if you know what i mean...

upsides

option 1 means i dont have to learn a new kitchen or menu and i might be able to get a small pay rise and the hours will eventually increase

option 2 .... same menu so i dont have to re-learn everything, same parent company so its quick to get hired and no worries about shifts overlapping

option 3... easy to do, no more brain frying, only chip frying.... good chance at getting on the management career track, ive got a skill set now i could take with me that would put me i think, above or on par with the other mcdonalds cooks



im thinking option 3, what do you guys think?

[Suzanne]

Is there anybody here who used their McD training to move on to "bigger and better" things? You need to hear from people like that, I think, before you select that option. Because you want to take a long-term view, not only an immediate one -- what will that move prepare you for in the future?

[KYHeirloomer]

I think you're putting the cart before the horse.

Your first decision is: What do I want from my food service career? Once you answer that, the other decisions are just about made for you.

For instance: Getting on a management track with McD's only prepares you for McDonalds management positions---and, eventually, ownership of a franchise. Is that what you want?

On the other hand, option 2 helps prepare you for a long-term carrer as a cook and chef. What you list as downsides actually could play to your advantage.

Option 1 is just unacceptible no matter what your long-range plans. You have to pay rent, and buy food, and send payments to the light and power folks; and not spend your work hours worrying about how to do that.

[the_seraphim]

thing with option 2 is, i wouldnt really get a chance to change any of the ways they work its not like i would go in and start even suggesting that they try and keep clean... its not workable... however the move to mcd's while potentially limiting me to mcdonalds for a while rather than progressing through vintage inns with actuall skills... it would be better financially and give me a chance to get somewhere within a company quickly, even if it is only mcdonalds... i dont mind working store management for a long part of my life, if it pays the bills then i can deal with it...

it also appears my gf is pregnant... this puts a more financial twist to my reasons to switch jobs so i may follow up the mcdonalds route or perhaps something else, but money is wiggling its way up the list of importance

[Stewey]

I worked for Carl's Jr (a McD's competitor here in the West). They hired me to be a cashier even though I wanted to "cook" because I could communicate clearly in both Eng. and Span.

for the first little bit, I really enjoyed the job because I was a small part of the broad food industry. I soaked up all the knowledge I could and would steal the food industry magazines that my boss would get at the store.

However, after a couple of months, you reach a plateau. There is nothing more to learn. I asked to move up into a shift leader position. My request was "granted" in a sense in that the boss had me do a lot of his work as "training." In other words, I was doing ALL of the work of a shift leader, BUT I wasn't getting paid for it AND I did not have any authoritah. My boss didn't want to lose me and he thought he could keep me by tricking me into thinking I was advancing. So yeah...that didn't last very long.

This was frustrating because I was working faster and smoother than everyone else. If I were a little older and experienced, I would have realized that I could have approached human resources in the company and received REAL training and pay and get a real shot at a career with the company. But I quit, and now I am a lawyer...a lawyer who wants to switch back into the food industry...go figure!

There are MANY opportunities in fast food for growth, but make sure you are placing your trust in the right people. Many of my coworkers, my boss, and many others I had met in the industry were there for one reason only--MONEY. So they may not nurture you in the food industry and will throw you under the bus if it means that they can save their job or get a raise. Also, many cooking schools do no accept fast food as restaurant experience.

BUUUUUT if you approach this experience from the point of view as obtaining BUSINESS experience (instead of culinary experience) then working in a place like McD's isn't a bad way to go.

Some people may look down on it, but when you meet with MBA students or MBA grads, entrepreneurs and the like, THEY ALL had to pay their dues! And you will learn things about running a business and corp that you probably were not aware of.

So again, if your goal is food experience, then don't do McD's. But if you make business experience your goal, then you will do just fine at McD's. And just know that YOU are in control...don't let your immediate bosses take advantage of you. McD's is a big corp and you can advance readily if you play your cards right.

Good Luck!!!

[foodpump]

You are faced with a sitch that many cooks are faced with.

Fahgettabout Mc D's. Like everybody else says, once you're trained up you're only good for Mc D's "unique style" of doing things. And the same thing applies for any mega-chain.

So you want to learn how to cook, well then, learn how to cook by cooking. Start looking at other places, smaller places, ethnic places, places that do their own pastries, places that do thier own sauces, places that do their own purchasing--from many and varied purveyors--not one mega-supplier. Get your foot in these types of doors, maybe 8-16 hrs per week.

This gives you a pair of teflon clad underwear: Not only are you exposed to new and different types of food, cooking, and management styles, not only have you spread out your "network" a little further, but most importantly you are not dependant soley on one employer for your income. You have no idea what this means to you untill you experience this for yourself.

Hope this helps.

[Jayme]

the seraphim-
Do you have the option to seek a new job in another (hopefully suitable) kitchen, closer to home?? Or perhaps you need a car or public transportation?
KY brings up some good points.... you are, obviously, thinking fairly short term right now.... but you need to be sure that your short term doesn't sabotage or take in the opposite direction from whatever it is that you want long term. Good luck! We are here for you!!