New career at 30....

[Anonymous]

Has anyone done this? What was your experience?

I am contemplating a career change that would require 9 months of going to school and probably a significant pay cut once I start out. But it would be a more fulfilling career that I feel I would enjoy immensely. I have a 9 month old at home and would probably have to keep my full time job while going to school. The time away from my family is a big concern for me.

Any advice or words of wisdom?

[Anonymous]

If this is to go into teaching, you might we waiting for quite a while to find a job. If not, make sure you can find a job in your area before investing the time and money.

[Anonymous]

It depends on what you changing over to...where are you now and what are you thinking about?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Culinary school.

[Anonymous]

Get a job in a restaurant first (busboy, server, whatever) and see if you like before taking on the debt for culinary school. And be aware that the hours for people in the restaurant industry are terrible and very not family friendly - once kids were in school you would pretty much never see them, never eat dinner with them, have to work every weekend night. Personally, I would not do it unless I had some sort of post-school job lined up or realistic plan that would be somewhat family friendly (i.e. maybe you work at a bakery during the day).

[Anonymous]

OP, I thought about this too until talking to a Le Cordon Bleu trained chef who worked at various restaurants and as a private chef. They actually work crazy, 16 hour days! It's kind of like law school for me, I'm a lawyer now but before getting into it, you don't realize how many hours you will actually work. Might be good to get some perspective from those who have done it already. Sometimes, I think the schooling sounds great but then you don't realize the additional time commitment on the back end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Culinary school.

Have you researched this? Becoming a Chef is long, long, long and hard, hard, hard. Talk about being backstabbed by your colleagues! Also, women have a much harder time in this profession because, all too often, women are considered great cooks, even great gourmet cooks, but men are the Chefs. Good luck. I wouldn't but then I know the industry.

[Anonymous]

OP, what do you want to do after culinary school? Do you want to open a restaurant, a specialty shop, become a personal chef, work as a line cook somewhere? I agree you should think about the hours - in many cases food services are not family friendly careers, but there are ways to make it work if it's your passion.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP -

At 32 I decided that I did not want to continue my career in restaurant management/operations and went back to grad school part time and found a full time job in my desired career (HR strategy and consulting). Five years later I can say that it was absolutely worth it, both in terms of the amount of money I invested in graduate school as well as the effort and sacrifice of going to school while working full time. I'm in a profession I love, working for a great company, and am earning a great income. One of the other benefits of my new career is that the hours are much more family friendly. So from the perspective of whether to switch careers relatively later in life, I would say go for it.

But some things to consider working in the restaurant industry. As you may already know, you'll likely work nights, weekends, and holidays. Additionally, as you've noted, pay for prep and line cooks is very low, comparatively speaking, and even with a degree from a top school you can expect to start at the bottom and have a long road of apprenticeship before you move up the ladder. Even many top chefs in DC's best and busiest restaurants don't make six figures, so it's not necessarily that lucrative of a career. If you have a 9 month old, you'll need a lot of support from your husband/partner. I would also say you'll need to be comfortable with not necessarily recouping your school expenditures for a while.

You might have already done this, but maybe make a list of what you are looking for from your new career before you head to school. Are you looking for more work/life balance? If so, the restaurant biz will present challenges there; it's not uncommon for kitchen staff to work 50-60 hours a week. Pay is low. Also, as a PP alluded to, the restaurant business can be (though not always) tough on women - the restaurant kitchen is often very male dominated. But if you are looking for passion, creative outlet, and an exciting, ever-changing, and challenging day-to-day environment, the restaurant business has that in spades. It's about what you want from your new career.

[Anonymous]

I went to grad school at 31 and got my MSW (Master's of social work).

[Anonymous]

30! You have plenty of time to try out three more careers before you retire. You're still a baby in terms of your working life. It is fine to take chances if you think the work is something you would enjoy.

[Anonymous]

I made the switch from teaching to IT project management. I trippled my salary in three years but IT project management is definitely not as fullfilling or rewarding. Implementing an accounting system doesn't motivate me the way working with students did. The money is great but I feel "empty" and will probably switch back at some point.

[Anonymous]

I started a grad program when my first child was 1. In retrospect I think it was because I felt like my life had come apart since the baby was born and I was trying to get a sense of control by taking a big step to try to improve my career. I share this because your child is a similar age and I wonder if something similar might be going on.

In my case I chose a low-paying field with poor employment prospects, although I justified it at the time by believing that my experience would be different. I did not enjoy the grad program as much as I expected, and after a brief period of working in the field I'm back in my old career (and frankly pretty happy and satisfied). This is not to say that people shouldn't go to grad school with a baby, or that you can't change careers successfully, only that I felt at the time like it might be my last chance, or that life the way it was with an infant would go on like that forever, and nneither of those things were true. If I had known that, I might have done it differently.

[Anonymous]

I'd be cautious about culinary school for all the reasons mentioned, but 30 is not too old to switch careers! Depending on what attracts you to culinary school, have you considered pursuing dietetics/ nutrition (these programs prepare you for a career in either clinical / public health OR hospitality) or hospitality management?

[Anonymous]

OP, a friend of mine recently started a website related to the industry, and specifically, balancing a relationship/family life when one partner is in the restaurant industry -- it might have some good insights for you. http://www.marriedtoachef.com Good luck with your decision!