Some Questions

The salary can vary depending on how you apply yourself and where you apply. Most hotels will start you off anywhere from 9 to 12 an hour.

restaurants will be along the same lines some will probably pay a bit more but not much.

and yes starting off as a prep cook is the best thing for you. It will teach you basic skills like knife usage and how to judge the food your handling on a daily basis.

As far as moving up well that is a whole nother thing in and of itself. If your in a good sized city I would say in a solid two years you could be a sous at someones restaurant. I say this because restaurants are opening daily in a lot of big cities and while there is alot of competition, there is also more room to grow and shine. I have seen some good people work a solid year to a year and a half at one place and go some where else and become a sous chef. Now being a sous chef is work in and of itself as well. You have to be a good leader and alot more. Its way more than about cooking when you become a sous chef then a chef.

On the other hand this could take years for you to do. Alot of places pride themselves on their chefs and their sous chefs, so they will not just let some schmo off the street come in and have this job.

The short of it is this. You are gonna have to work your way up period. It all depends on you and how long your willing to do it for. If you want to be respected and move up fast then you have to do all the right thngs and apply yourself and it could happen.. eventually :)