Congrats to you on embarking on your own journey of culinary education. So glad to be reading up on the adventures of another CSCA’er. I will be assisting in some of the recreational classes this summer so perhaps we will cross paths. My recent reading list is very similar to yours….McGee’s book is tremendously dense but it is a great reference to have. So many of the concepts in his book are covered in my classes.

I had a hard time trying to find decent wage statistics. I started with the Bureau of Labor Statistics website… bls.gov, which seems to indicate that entry level cooks should expect to earn somewhere around $10. I’ve read (can’t remember where) that executive chefs can make anywhere between $50 – 90k but that depends on many factors, including location, type and size of establishment, work experience etc. The starting wages certainly are a far cry from what career changers like you and I have become accustomed to in our previous careers. That’s why I think it makes sense to be a ‘well rounded’ career changer and be willing to wear many hats, so to speak. That’s one of the many reasons why I started my own blog, perhaps I can use it as a starting point for freelance writing. Same thing with photography, perhaps I can do some of that on the side while enduring the lean years while working as a line-cook.

Good luck to you on your path, I think it’s great. I also linked to your blog and look forward to reading your updates.