[Goose]

Hi all,

I am new to these boards and wanted to introduce myself, share a bit about me and see if I can get and give valuable feedback from the more experienced among you...

About me: I am a 35 y.o. Business Professional who, like so many other "older" professionals that I have read on this board, are looking to get out of their current careers and into something that they love (or at least, in my case, think they would love) to do. I am not looking for simply a chnage of career. I am sure I can do that in other areas of the working world. Simply, I am uninspired by my field, and am trying to couple a career with something that I enjoy doing...Cooking. My only experience is that I cook for friends and family and try to come up with "new" things on whims and experiment on those that I love...I have found that more often than not, they love what I com eup with, and at the same time, i enjoy doing it.

I am thinking about getting a culinary degree and learning from professionals so that I can hone in on my skills and learn the things I don't know...I am very sure that there are many. Ultimately, I would like to have a career (in some capacity or another) dealing with food and cooking (not necessarily working in a large kitchen, but maybe other things...too soon to tell).

With that, I have some fears. First and foremost is financial fears. I currently make a very good living, and I realize that going into this field, i will be making a whole lot less. I am not rally sure how much, but I know that at first, it will be substantial. I have financial and family resonsibilities, and well, this is one of the biggest things that is currently holding me back. Also, the hours. How have other married people coped with the drastic shift in hours and how did your spouce deal with it? What preparations did you do to get yourselves ready for this change?

I am sure that there are other things that will scare me along the way, and I am interested in hearing about how others endured in their journey before me...

Goose.

[Dirk Skene]

Howdy I'm a newby myself. Hope to see you around the forum

[Mezzaluna]

Hello Goose and welcome to Chef Talk. As you rightly surmised, there are many members here who have transitioned into and out of culinary careers- in some cases, several times. By reading the threads you'll learn a lot about what motivated them to make the change and how they coped with the change in circumstances- financial, marital and job satisfaction. You may learn about a career in this field that doesn't require you to work weekends and holidays but which gives you the satisfaction you're looking for. Then again, you may like working a schedule like that! It suits some, to be sure.

Have a look around and see for yourself. Use the search tool if something doesn't show up in the current forums. We hope you visit often to learn and participate, and will look forward to seeing you here.

Good luck in your quest,
Mezzaluna