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I went the other way, working full time at night when I was a teenager through high school. I got out of cooking when I was in my mid-20s (mid/late-90s) because

by zikzak 4y ago

I went the other way, working full time at night when I was a teenager through high school. I got out of cooking when I was in my mid-20s (mid/late-90s) because of a health issue and pursued computer science (was programming as a hobby). The pay is significantly better and I don't have to work evenings and weekends.

Ntrails 4y ago
I failed school (personal/motivation reasons) and went into Kitchens full time as it was the only skill I had. Working 50+ hours a week for borderline minimum wage as a salaried employee is hard. Knowing that next week will be exactly the same, and the week after and the week after is just kinda bleak. I eventually chucked it in, went back to uni via an access course / foundation year (so greatful that it existed) and graduated with a good degree and started a career as a grad where my salary was over twice what I earned as a chef without even approaching the same level of hard graft. It's an interesting perspective to have, and unusual amongst my peers.
- gernb 4y ago
  > nowing that next week will be exactly the same, and the week after and the week after is just kinda bleak. Sounds like software engineering job. It just happens to pay better
  - Ntrails 4y ago
    > Sounds like software engineering job. It just happens to pay better It definitely isn't specific to working as a chef, and I didn't intend to imply it. My experience of being (adjacent) to software dev is that actually a _lot_ of things change. I am solving different problems week by week. Learning new things, making new mistakes. Some of the bleakness was related to money though, and all of it was my personal experience. Bourdain covers it really well. There are people who love it. The Life. I was lucky enough to work briefly at a 2 Starred place and holy shit - they were working far harder than I ever had and loving it. It was working with them that really clarified for me that I had no future there, I didn't love it. I was just competent, not passionate. More Meandering Thoughts, not sure what my point is xD

by zikzak 4y ago

Ntrails 4y ago

I failed school (personal/motivation reasons) and went into Kitchens full time as it was the only skill I had. Working 50+ hours a week for borderline minimum wage as a salaried employee is hard. Knowing that next week will be exactly the same, and the week after and the week after is just kinda bleak. I eventually chucked it in, went back to uni via an access course / foundation year (so greatful that it existed) and graduated with a good degree and started a career as a grad where my salary was over twice what I earned as a chef without even approaching the same level of hard graft. It's an interesting perspective to have, and unusual amongst my peers.

gernb 4y ago
> nowing that next week will be exactly the same, and the week after and the week after is just kinda bleak. Sounds like software engineering job. It just happens to pay better
- Ntrails 4y ago
  > Sounds like software engineering job. It just happens to pay better It definitely isn't specific to working as a chef, and I didn't intend to imply it. My experience of being (adjacent) to software dev is that actually a _lot_ of things change. I am solving different problems week by week. Learning new things, making new mistakes. Some of the bleakness was related to money though, and all of it was my personal experience. Bourdain covers it really well. There are people who love it. The Life. I was lucky enough to work briefly at a 2 Starred place and holy shit - they were working far harder than I ever had and loving it. It was working with them that really clarified for me that I had no future there, I didn't love it. I was just competent, not passionate. More Meandering Thoughts, not sure what my point is xD