How much more do culinary school grads make compared to other cooks?

The government data for culinary salaries doesn't make a distinction between cooks with an without a culinary education. They do have seperate categories for chefs, but they're using the dictionary definition of chef, meaning a cook who supervises other cooks rather than just anyone who cooks "fancy" food for a living. Most of the other categories can include both people who work at chain restaurants, and people who work at the best restaurants in the country. It makes the salary info very confusing. Also, culinary school educations go from trade school certificates, to 4 year degrees. Just how much can a cook with a culinary education from a respected culinary school, like I.C.E or C.I.A, expect to make. Honestly, the low salaries listed for the general category "restaurant cooks" are really scaring me, but I figure most of those people are employed at chain restaurants, so I don't know if I have anything to worry about. Birdlady, thanks, a lot of people have told me the same thing. However, although I don't have info about how much more money grads actually make, I do know that most cooks at the higher end restaurants have gone to culinary school, especially the actual chefs, so not getting a good education would be a barrier to getting ahead. I just wish I knew what the starting salary of a culinary grad really is. I know it may not be as much as I hoped it would be, but there's just no way that there's not a difference in pay.

Public Comments

1. This is a tough question. I went to culinary school in 95 thinking the same thing, only to learn that experience is really what seems to make the difference in restaurants & catering companies. There are so many foreigners who have decent knife skills & who are willing to work for minimum wage that they have worked their way up in diners. Some may have left these diners & moved on to more upscale establishments. They do NOT, however, have the education of classic techniques, sauces, deserts, etc. Check around with catering companies as well. The pay will vary with job and experience. If you become a chef at a fancy club, for instance, your income will be more than at a rest home. You have to expand your thinking. A new & growing trend is for the well-off working class to order off a menu for home delivery of a dinner of their choice. This is an at home business, you prepare meals & deliver them to clients. Something for you to think about.
2. If you go to school before you have a solid background in the field you will be doomed to factory food (casual dining). Culinary grads without real experience have a really hard time getting much more than line cook jobs at Fridays and the like which won't even begin to pay off the huge amount of loans you'll need to pay for school. Fortunately, basic culinary jobs do not need school. You learn while you earn and when you know all there is to know you move on. The best education in food service is to change jobs every 12 to18 months, work in every restaurant that will hire you and then, if management is your thing, look into school. If you go when you are older and already know your way around, you learn more and as a working adult you will be able to handle the work load with ease. If you go to work in the hotels, some will pick up the tab for school!
3. Culinary school graduates generally get jobs at entry level positions. Check with your local employment office for the average wage in your area. Also, call some fine dining restaurants in your area and find out what they pay their staff. I think you'll be surprised to find that they don't pay much more than a chain restaurant would. I also think you are getting the terms "chef" and "cook" confused also. Chefs are the managers of the restaurant. These are salaried employees. A cook is an entry level, hourly wage job and doesn't pay much (you won't be able to find a job as a chef without experience). I've been working in this industry for 27 years. Cooks just don't make much money. Furthermore, as a culinary school graduate, you'll have to work your way up the ladder before you can become a manager. I don't know of anyone who got a job as a manager right out of culinary school. Work hard and gain experience. With time your salary will increase. There are some good paying manager jobs out there. FYI: A restaurant will NOT give you a higher rate of pay just because you graduated from culinary school. You have to work there for a while and PROVE yourself before you get a raise. Culinary school graduates are not necessarily BETTER employees. A wage increase depends on how much experience someone has, what kind of attitude they have and it depends, for the most part, on their work performance. You won't have much experience coming out of school. Another Note: If you don't have any Line Cooking experience, a restaurant WILL NOT hire you as a Line Cook. And, you'll have to become a Line Cook before you can EVER become a chef. So, if you don't have the line experience, then you'll have to start out as Prep Cook or Pantry Cook. (These are generally minimum wage jobs, regardless if it is in a fine dining establishment or not.)