#FollowYourDreams #NewBeginnings #CareerChange
Hey there! 👋 It’s awesome that you’ve found success in your current corporate job, but it’s completely understandable to feel unfulfilled and wanting something more. ⏰ Finding a balance between work and personal life is crucial for your overall well-being, so kudos to you for recognizing that at such a young age! 🌟
If culinary school and owning a restaurant truly ignite your passion, then it’s definitely worth exploring. 🍽️🍹 But before making any sudden moves, let’s dive into some advice and stories of others who have taken the leap of faith into following their dreams.
1️⃣ Research, Research, Research: Start by gathering information about culinary schools in your area. Read reviews, talk to alumni, and find out the courses they offer. Making an informed decision will give you more confidence in your career switch. 📚🔍
2️⃣ Moonlighting: Since you mentioned that you’ve hosted in restaurants before, consider taking up a part-time serving job while still working your corporate job. This will allow you to gain experience in the industry and decide if it’s the right fit for you. 🌙
3️⃣ Networking: Reach out to people who are already in the culinary field or have successfully opened their own restaurants. Attend industry events, join online forums, and get to know the challenges and rewards firsthand. Networking can open doors and provide valuable insight. 🤝
4️⃣ Transferable Skills: Although your bachelor’s degree may not align with hospitality or business, don’t discount the skills you’ve gained in operations and logistics. They can be assets in the culinary industry too. Be sure to emphasize your transferable skills during interviews or when creating your restaurant business plan. 💼📊
5️⃣ Start Small: Opening your own restaurant is an amazing dream! Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Consider starting with small ventures like food stalls, catering, or pop-up events. This will help you gain experience, build your reputation, and test the waters before fully committing to a brick-and-mortar establishment. 🏪
Now, let’s dive into a success story! 🎉 Meet Sarah, a former insurance agent who left her stable job to pursue her dream of becoming a pastry chef. With zero professional cooking experience, she enrolled in culinary school part-time while continuing to work. ✨ After two years of juggling both worlds, she gained the confidence to quit her corporate gig and joined a renowned bakery.
Today, Sarah has her own successful pastry business, running both an online shop and participating in local events. 🍰😍 It took hard work, dedication, and embracing the uncertainty, but her passion for pastries made it all worth it.
Remember, everyone’s journey is unique, and there will be ups and downs. 💪 It’s important to have a solid support system, stay motivated, and believe in yourself. Don’t be afraid to take risks and make that career switch if your heart truly lies in the culinary world.
Above all, follow your dreams with a sprinkle of patience and a dash of determination! 🌈✨ Best of luck on your culinary adventure! 🎉👩🍳
Pari Berk Chang was an associate at a prestigious law firm in the late 90s and gave it up & wrote an article about it, called, “Quitting My Job, Finding Myself.”
It did not go well. She married and divorced, became Pari Berk again, moved in with her parents, tried side jobs and passed tragically in her mid 40s, leaving 2 small children and an ex husband to be cared for by her widowed mom.
I did it and found out my dreams were better when they weren’t real so I went back to my corporate job.
Pick up a part time serving job and see how you like it. The restaurant industry is a meat grinder.
As someone who spent 15 years in restaurants and lucked into a cushy corporate IT job, stay in the cushy job haha. If you think you work lots of nights and weekends now oh boy. Office jobs can be stressful but nothing like a restaurant.
Also some restaurant industry facts:
1. Culinary school is worthless, no one cares and many chefs will not hire culinary grads.
2. Owning a restaurant is pie in the sky – you need a few million and banks no longer give loans to open them. Every single owner I worked for was a rich kid playing with family money.
3. The wages are shit even at management level.
4. You will age out. Looking around in your thirties and realizing you are the oldest one in the room sucks. Your body will begin to break down after years on your feet doing double shifts.
If you’re regularly working nights or weekends, it’s not cushy, no matter the pay. In most industries you can probably find similar work at a different company with better work/life balance.
Everybody and every situation is different, but for most, a job that affords enough time and money to pursue other things is where you want to get to. It’s not perfect but it might be good enough, better than most alternatives.
Yup!! Worked in corporate insurance for 5 years. Hated hated hated what I was doing and that industry in general. My job was very stressful and I was constantly dealing with emotional people and sensitive issues. It was burning me out big time. I was comfortable financially but felt like I didn’t want to take things further in that field to try and make more money. As inflation started going crazy, it felt like I wasn’t making enough anymore.
I found a community college program that interested me, took some steps to get accepted, and now I’m on my 3rd out of 4 semesters. I have never been happier. I’m entering an exciting field with a lot of opportunities, I don’t have to deal with crying people all day, my classes are interesting and school is so much fun. I got a job in the field this past summer and they have kept me on part time during the year. This summer I got to travel for work (always been my dream), met amazing people and networked, and was making more money than I was in insurance. It’s never too late to change what you are doing.
I was inspired by my dad. He was an artisan in a very niche area and owned a successful business for 15 years. He decided at age 40 he wanted a more stable career and something more intellectually challenging, so he went to law school and did a masters in law. Lol he was in university while I was in middle school and when he was doing his masters, I was a freshman at the same college! Now he’s had a successful career in the law world.
There are going to be people here who say it’s a terrible idea, and they may be right. There are also people here who are going to say go for it, you only live once, and they may be right.
Whether it’s right for you is the real question. What are your values? What are your life goals? Do you have (or want) a family? Do you value security? What’s your risk tolerance?
These are all things you would really want to determine before making a big move like that. Once you figure that all out, then you need to figure out the finances. Can you afford to follow your dreams (if that’s what you decide)? Or, are there ways to follow your dreams while keeping your day job (catering maybe or volunteer at a community kitchen)?
Spend time reflecting on whats valuable to you now and in the future. Then make a plan to move your life towards those values.
I’ve never had a cushy job and I think that’s what has driven me to keep trying at my dream or creating or performing art. Right now, I’m working on a book series
I left corporate engineering to go into the TV / Film industry, it’s been several years, and can say it’s been a fun journey, but definitely not as easy 1. If you’re going to leave, I’d say do it for the experience and potential fulfillment, but not for an easy lifestyle.
Job has been significantly more fulfilling, people have been much more diverse and fun to work with, have traveled all over, gotten paid to attend cool events, but the pay, especially in the beginning, being super unstable, involved living a very frugal lifestyle. As a result, I’m single, have no kids, no debt, but wouldn’t have been able to make the transition if I had any of those mentioned above.
I completely understand where you’re coming from
Sometimes, following your dreams means taking a leap of faith and leaving behind a comfortable job
It can be scary, but the passion it ignites makes it worth it
Good luck on your culinary journey!
yes. It went/is going poorly.
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edit: it was a Corp job, but it was general counsel and vp of hr and it was fucking brutal. They did provide income and health insurance though, which sounds pretty great now.
If you think that all you do now is work, wait until you have a business to run.
There are lots of good reasons to own your own business, but spending time with loved ones and friends is not one.
You will work from open to close, every day you are open.
Before opening and after closing you will do the books, do the marketing, do the buying, do the legal, do the tech stack stuff, do the etc. etc. etc.
You will be dealing with employees who show up for work high, don’t show up, steal, get hurt, fake getting hurt, etc. etc. etc.
You will be dealing with customers who scream, fight, get hurt, fake getting hurt, etc. etc. etc.
You will be going to sleep worrying if you’ve got enough to make payroll, trying to remember where you are on paying suppliers, wondering if you have enough insurance if someone falls, etc. etc. etc.
Here’s the reality:
No one dreams of corporate life. That’s why you get paid well to do it.
I can definitely relate to your situation
It’s important to prioritize your happiness and follow your passions
Taking a leap of faith and pursuing your dream of attending culinary school and opening a restaurant sounds exciting
Sometimes, starting over can lead to great opportunities and personal fulfillment
Best of luck on this new journey!
The velvet handcuffs of a well paying corporate job have me locked in. I am professionally unfulfilled but also at a deeply comfortable place in my life. I casually look, but I’ll likely not find as good of a gig anywhere else.
At the very end of 2022, I (M, 28) left my Private Equity recruiting job to focus on music more. I left a lot of money and benefits on the table but like you, work consumed my life and I just literally could not live my day to day that way. I was given a small severance and received my bonus before moving on.
This year i’ve worked for an event management company, a restaurant, a retail store and now at a hotel. I make way less money and have little to no benefits but i’ve never been happier/more creatively fulfilled. I work long shifts and over night sometimes but I do fuck all and can work on my music, read, write whatever I desire really. I have a B.A in Comm and have a great professional network but the more time I spend outside of the corporate world the less I want to go back. The security and perks are to die for but my time and artistic career are infinitely more important.
All this to say, no one has the answers or can make the decision for you. You have to live with you everyday. Plenty of people think i’m nuts for what I did but its my life after all. Only thing worth noting is I live in a rent controlled apartment in Bedstuy (born and raised) and still dont pay rent so I have the luxury to take such risks.
Every single person I know that hit the mental “I can’t take this corporate 💩 anymore. I’m going to work for myself!” wall, and went out to consult all eventually came back to the corporate teat.
Why?
They couldn’t take/didn’t like the income instability of self-employment. They’d all rather have the Steady/Known check coming in every other week.
I have worked in the Corp for 15 plus years. Left in early 2020 to open my own business.
I was pampered making good money. Now I work twice as hard with double the pay off and would never go back..
Get a part time job working in a restaurant to see what it’s really like.Make sure you spend time working both FOH and BOH so you get what’s really involved.
To be frank, this is a really dumb series of decisions you want to make for a dream that you need significant time and financial investment to realize.
If you really feel the drive to realize this dream, what would be smarter would be finding a different job with better work/life balance, reducing your living costs for a few years to build up an investment fund for your own restaurant, because you’re gonna struggle to get that from banks due to the notorious lack of stability in the restaurant industry without an investment firm backing you up, take night courses for culinary training with your newfound time due to a job transition and business classes to manage your own restaurant successfully, and then try opening a restaurant in 5-10 years once you’re actually in a financial place to do so. The maverickness you’re trying to convey with just quitting and leaving it all just reads like a disastrous manic episode, as quitting cold turkey without rich parents and no actual plan to get somewhere only works out in the movies.
I don’t have a corporate job so no.
Quit my job at Google to buy a pizza shop. Love my life now. First year was crazy stressful
Holy fuck brother, DONT DO IT.
I was a chef, and I worked at michelin starred restaurants.
Wanna work 70 hour weeks for dog shit money and no benefits? Razor thin margins, alcoholics, physical and mental abuse, be laughed at when you need time off no matter what its for + not get it, and never have a life again?
If thats what you want go for it!
I left and I work in IT now. I would rather join the army than go back to a kitchen. To be honest, I will die before I got back to that life.
You want to turn $500,000 in $0? Open a restaurant.
You’re a sucker if you try at this point in your life, I am sorry if that sounds mean.
Please, read Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential chapter about operating a restaurant. It will change your mind.
I did it. Left 6fig to go make min wage in a dream location doing a dream job. Learned a lot about myself as a person. Had to get really crafty to be able to afford to survive. Went back to cushy job a year later because I literally couldn’t afford to feed myself.
I did it in reverse, once out of high school I tried to follow my dreams and almost became insane, depressed and broke and wasted almost my entire 20s, later got lucky and landed a cushy corporate job and I can’t imagine making a good comfy living any other way.
My dreams work way better as hobbies, I suspect this is not uncommon.
I worked at the corporate office for a multi-level marketing company that talked non-stop about passive income and owning your own business. I didn’t buy into the multi-level marketing business but I wanted to be an entrepreneur super bad.
I ended up opening a couple of sandwich shops, kind of like Quiznos type, better quality food than Subway.
The corporate office ended up screwing me over by opening another franchise super close to my location and my store got cannibalized.
My theory these days is that if you have an inside connection to an industry, as in you know something other people don’t so you can fulfill a need, or if you have a good job to act as a base for your business to build from then go for it.
But, quitting your job to just put it all on black and roll the dice? Definitely would not advise that.
I left my 13yr Fortune 10 corp job in tech and ops to hike the Appalachian Trail.
Came back decided I’d never go back to corp life.
Hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, biked across the US among a bunch of other crazy adventures.
Opened my own restaurant/music club, and now I’m opening 3 more locations. I’ll soon have around 120 employees.
I’d be lying if I said it was easy, some days it’s really hard – BUT! Most importantly, I feel more satisfied than I ever did in the corporate world doing things for myself. I have to say it takes more than just hard work, you have to be a little lucky too.
Change is scary, but you can ALWAYS start over. You can ALWAYS make more money, but you can’t make more time. Spending most of your waking hours doing something you don’t like seems like a waste of life, even if it comes with a nice paycheck.
My guy, you are 24… Chase your dreams, worst case you fall flat on your face and realize it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows…. ooooor its everything you thought it would be ( or close to it) and you find what speaks to your sole. If it doesn’t work out take that degree and get back to the grind of the desk job.
The regret of not trying will mostly likley be much worse than the regret of trying and failing.
Do what scares you, if it was easy, everyone would do it.
I tried pursuing my dreams of working in publishing. After three years of poverty wages, extreme job competition competition, and feeling like a failure, I have up and pivoted to market research. 10/10 choice. I was carrying so much stress and I didn’t even realize how bad it was until it wasn’t there anymore.
I quit my corporate job, moved half way across the world to get a PhD because I thought academia was what I wanted. Realized I hated it. Quit my PhD but found a new corporate job (I’m actually in job #3 now) in that new country. I don’t regret it at all. I like the country I live in.
I didn’t change careers, I moved from a FAANG to a company of much less employees. I’m sooooo much happier.
I got my dream job last year in a hcol area and at $18.50 an hr. I couldn’t financially make it work so I left and work in another field so I can save up and attempt to try again but if it doesn’t happen I’m cool with it since I got my dream job even though it was short
you think your current job is a grind, its not as if owning or working in a restaurant is any easier. difference is you’re grinding your body down and dealing with whiny bitchy customers all the time. hours and pay are constantly fluctuating. no benefits. if you’re an owner theres a very high chance you wont even ever turn a profit. every waking hour of your life is spent thinking about and being present at your restaurant because your entire life depends on this one business succeeding, which it statistically most likely will not.
ive worked in restaurants, retail, fast food my entire life. until recently (im 22). it fucking sucks man. drama, stress, the majority of people you know depending on drugs and alcohol to get by, sleazy middle aged cooks fucking barely legal hostesses, toxic managers and owners. it takes a certain person to be able to run a restaurant and most of them in my experience are on some level toxic, strung out, and stressed. what kept me going was the desire to eventually get out of that by finishing college and getting the cushy office job. do you really want to be 30+ years old busting your ass lugging ice and dishes around while 8 tables of whiny fucks are yelling at you for honey mustard and salt, overhearing the college aged kids you work with spreading gossip about everyone, while your manager thats running off coke and energy drinks is yelling at you for not being fast enough, while you’re barely awake because you’re on hour 8 of your 12 hour double?
if the passions REALLY TRULY there maybe they’ll tell you its worth it but idk. not every restaurant is as bad as the extremes im typing out. and i also realize there are negatives about corporate life. its not like annoying bosses and workplace drama is only limited to restaurants.
but the thing about dreams and fantasies is that sometimes they’re better off as dreams and fantasies. its not gonna be some quaint experience where you’re sipping on wine and cooking up an exquisite five star meal on a warm summer day while italian music plays in the background
why not take culinary classes after work? treat yourself. learn it on your own time. make it so every weekend is a cooking night for you where you have a recipe every week to try and learn. you can even make it a weekly hangout with your friends where they come over and you cook for them. i understand the passion for food and cuisine as its a very beautiful and core part of humanity that connects us. But like most situations where passion is preyed upon for monetary purposes, the restaurant industry will most likely drain your soul and spit you back out
Go crazy on the corporate job and live well below your means. Save up a years worth of rent and then quit. While you pursue your dreams also study for some sort of registration/certificate that carries weight in your field so you can return easily if need be
It’s completely understandable to feel trapped in a demanding corporate job and yearn for a new career path that ignites your passion
Taking a leap of faith and pursuing your dreams could be incredibly rewarding
Best of luck in your culinary journey!
That sounds like a tough situation, but pursuing your passion and dreams is never a bad choice
Have you considered talking to people in the culinary industry or researching about opening a restaurant? It might help you gather insights and make a more informed decision
Best of luck with your career transition!
I’m in the middle of it. Will keep you posted
Wow, it sounds like you’re at a crossroads in your career
Following your dreams can be scary but also incredibly rewarding
Have you considered talking to people in the culinary industry or seeking advice from successful restaurant owners? It might give you valuable insights and help you make an informed decision about quitting your job
Best of luck on your journey!
All I’m gonna say is that I work in a cocktail place during the summer, and even the owner, someone who can be considered to have “made it” tells me to get the fuck out of this industry as soon as I’m able to.
I agree with her, it’s a nightmare where hours are long, pay is shit, customers are assholes and sometimes get violent and there’s few to no growth opportunities. Not to mention it takes a toll on your physical health.
These artsy careers like chef, photographer, standup comedian, and guitar player are nice for a while.
But eventually you realize that the shitty part of every career is “waking up the next morning and doing it all over again”.
I’m 25 and was in the same boat 6 months ago, and I quit my terrible corporate job. Right now I’m doing gig work while I try to remember what I care about/want to do—I feel like I lost my entire personality at that job, lol. Even though I haven’t figured it all out yet I am 100% sure that quitting was the right thing to do. Life is too short to do something you hate.