I was just curious as to how many of you have some sort of culinary degree? So I will let my little "secret" out and say that I am a sophmore in highschool and needless to say my mind is often occupied with thoughts of my future career choice. I have always loved to bake since I was a little girl and just over a year ago discovered cake decorating. Since them I have found that I have a passion not only for cakes but for food itself. It seems I can never go long w/o rolling up my sleves and getting messy in the kitchen . This site and the people on it have greatly inspired and challenged me not just to do better but to be the best I can be, the greatest. I guess I am curious because I know a lot of you if not most of you never had any sort of culinary degree. Oh, and a big thank you to all you great people out there!!!!!!!!!! I can not stress how much I have been challenged and I greatly appreciate it!

Check with your hs guidance counselor, to see if there is a program you can attend while in hs. Here at my son's HS they have a program through VOTEC that is very good, and the best thing is its free for those in school.

As far as a degree, i don't have one in culinary, i have one in accounting, got out of school and found out sitting behind a desk was not for me. So eventually i got a job as a cook in the local nursing home and found that i really love food and a steady paycheck is great. After working for several years i had one of the older cooks encourage me to take some cake decorating lessons and got bit by the cake bug, so now i teach and make cakes as a side fun job.

I don't have a culinary degree but I do cater and of course do cakes. I am in school currently to be a teacher. Just a nice hobby to have as well as have a little spending money for the kids.

But talk to your guidance couselor if you're seriously interested in doing that! Good luck and you're very talented for a sophmore!

I myself have went to Le Cordon Bleu in Atlanta, GA and it was very helpful to me. My main passion was food, i cater. then i discovered cakes and candy. It is all about what you want to do. I want to grow my business so I felt like I need the degrees and the exposure to a different class of food and pastry. I am currently going back to school to get my bachelor's degree in culinary arts. It is all about your ultimate goal!

I went to a culinary school... when i graduated i decieded i didnt wanna work in a resturant at all... so i worked in an office for 5 yrs after that and just cooked for fun... then got into making cakes 5 yrs after i graduated, with me have gone to school i find that i know ALOT of things that help me out with cake decorating.

I'll graduate next semester w/ my culinary degree, and this time next year I'll have my pastry degree w/ it.

Mike

Look very carefully at what a culinary degree will cost, and look at how much your student loan payments will be.

Then figure out how you'll pay those student loan payments in a job that pays $10-15 an hour. (Remember, you need to pay for rent and food, too.)

Hi, in my case I went to culinary school because food was my pasion. After culinary school, I start working at a hotel at the fine dining station. Although I was very happy with my achievements and development, the pastry chef used to "stole" me from my station to help him and his crew. That was when I first I met a cake and the journey of the batter to become a piece of art. Then I married(my co-workers did the cake), and have kids and with the kids I left my job to become a stay at home mom. Now I Bake from home, and I can't wait the day that my little one go to shcool to run an stablish my own shop. Having my culinary education show me everything including sanitary laws, business managment and help me with a lot of pre-preparation tips and time managment. Also opens you to a world that brings to your palette new experiences and a lot of self cofidence. Run to your conselour they can find you a scholarship (I got one from Coca Cola), the culinary world is so amazing that you will never regret, GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!

I have a culinary arts degree. I am currently trying to decide if in the next 3 years I want to go back to school for pastry or for becoming a certified culinary arts instructor.
The culinary field is very hard but to me the aching feet is worth it.
You will learn more from on the job training and real life situations than you ever will in school. However, schooling is important if you can do it, because it will give you a better understanding for the basics and why things are done a certain way.
There are really good certified community colleges also. Make sure you find a school that is ACF certified.
You might have (as someone mentioned earlier) a VOTEC school you can go to. You can learn a lot there. The one in my area is the champs for the state of Ohio.
Look into possibly joining the ACF also. You can join as a junior member since these are usually people who are still in high school/college. They can help guide you in the right direction as to where to go and also offer scholarships.

At 32 I decided to attend the FCI in New York for pastry... it was a longtime dream, and I'm happy every day that I followed my passion. I only wish I knew way back when that this was really what I wanted. oh well! lol

I have a degree in Pastry Arts. Like you, I loved everything about the food from a very young age. Many, many moons ago I had a career as a systems analyst but was bored out of my mind. I quit the corporate world, went to culinary school and never looked back.

My son is a freshman in high school. As a baby he refused to eat baby food and would only eat the same stuff we were eating. He loves to make dinner for the family and is always happy to help me out with cakes when I ask him. I've told him not to go to culinary school, but to get himself a career where he'll make better money and keep his food interest as a hobby. Who knows if he'll take my advice. He's got the food bug and there's nothing I can do about it.

As a chef I would encourage you to follow your bliss and go to culinary school. As a mom I would encourage you to seriously consider whether this is the career path you want to take. Much as I love the work, a careet in the food service industry means long hours on weekends and holidays, low pay and, the thing that surprises many people when they get into the business, the hard physical labor that is often involved.

No one can really answer this for you. Please talk to your guidance counselor and parents to help you make your decision. Maybe take a part-time job in a restaurant or bakery to see how you like life in the kitchen.

Good Luck!!!!

I have a pastry degree and I'm glad that I got it as I learned alot about running a business and food safety and more. I got experience in lots of different work environments before starting my own business and I'm glad I did.
Check out your voctec if your school has one.
Good luck

I have a Baking and Pastry Arts certificate from California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.

I completed my BS In Accounting, MBA in Finance and also a CPA. I work for an global investment firm. While working fulltime, raising triplets- now 5 years old. I completed aBaking and Pastry Certificate from ICE in New York on weekends.

I highly recommend take classes at community college before you spend all your money on culinary school. I just work weekends at a cake decorating studio and help at weddings. I plan to teach cake decorating and gumpaste classes in the future for hearing impaired cake students. (I'm deaf). I also recommend when you visit your high school counselor check for scholarships. Also just start baking and decorating cakes for friends, family and enter local cake shows and join a cake club.

I now live in Orange county due to a job transfer. I plan to join a cake club in Southern California soon so I can network with other cake decorators.

I have a baking and pastry certificate from the CIA and it was very helpful. I learned so much and people take me more seriously. I don't think it is a must-have though. Its up to the person. I also have a Bachelors degree.

I agree with others on here....I wish I had know when I was in 10th grade that I wanted to do this...but you live and learn....