So I'm thinking about applying to a few bakeries around my area but would possibly want to keep my current job as well. I was just wondering what a decorators schedule is like? Obviously they're all different, but if you've worked or still work in a bakery as a decorator what's your schedule like? 

Thanks in advance!!

I've never worked for a high end bakery, but i did spend a year at a supermarket bakery. We were exclusively sheet cakes which came frozen. We started at 7 am, set out all the order sheets for the day (between 4-12 usually), and iced all the cakes at once. After that we spent the bulk of the day decorating each cake by following the pic in the book depending on when it was due. On a busy day we were non stop busy until at least 4 pm, although it wasnt uncommon to be there as late as 7. Being a small bakery, i would have to stop decorating every couple minutes to serve donuts, cut meat, answer phones, etc. Very frustrating. Repeat 5-6 days a week.

Overall, it was fun, but there was no creative freedom. I would personally love to hear about the day from a person who works in a "real" bakery!

We have a decorator scheduled every day, and their hours vary -- anywhere between 9AM and 3PM generally, although sometimes they could be scheduled later, say noontime to 1PM.  They generally work a 4 or 5-hour shift, sometimes 6 on the weekends, full 8-hour day if it's a "cake" weekend (graduation, for example).

Only one has set days off because of school.  Another has been working nights twice a week because she has young children at home.  Everyone else -- myself included -- is at the mercy of the scheduling gods.

The heaviest work days for us are Thursdays and Fridays to prep for the weekend, with Saturday set generally aside for orders.  We sometimes have orders for Sunday, but the decorator scheduled for Sundays will almost always do those orders unless they're for early pickup, in which case they'll be done on Saturday.

When I worked at a cake shop, I was there 5 days a week, 3 days baking, filling, making flowers, crumb coating, and such. We decorated 2 days a week. Someone would come in on Monday and Wednesday to help me bake and fill, but I was on my own Tuesday. That is when I would make the flowers, cookies, and chocolates.  And then on Thursday, we would have 3-4 decorators come in and we would do the Friday cakes, and then Friday, we would have 4-5 people come in to do the Saturday cakes. Saturday, I NEVER worked, but they would do the chocolate covered strawberries, and clean, closed Sunday. If I had enough volume to need help, I would have someone in 3 days a week.

I have a commercial kitchen at my home, and have no need of having help with baking and filling, since I can bake and fill more than I could ever decorate (and have, at the shop) so I would have someone in on Thursday and Friday. Saturday, a half day to clean! I would LOVE that!