Hospitality Industry?

[axion]

Does anyone here work in the hospitality industry?

If so, as what?

Im looking for a career change, but wanting to remain in this industry. Im looking for insight/advice from people with experience.

Get at me.

[LastWerd]

well you want a career change, but what do you do now?

[axion]

sous-chef in a restuarant.

love cooking, need to be making more $$$, need something with less stress.

[LastWerd]

hmmm. The hospitality industry is FULL of stress. I have always worked in this industry from fast food, to hotels, to servinga nd hosting, to bartending,to event planning and now promotion which is a mix of hospitality and marketing.
I went ot school for hospitality management, DO NOT DO THAT! its a waste of money, if you have common sense do not take that course. That is all they teach you.

Well you love cooking... hmmm... maybe find a restaurant that pays better?
Or take a cooking class so you have more experience.
You want less stress... well serving is a no then, maybe bartending? That is wicked money and not that stressful, serving is worse. But it is late nights.
Management... that is alot of stress but sometimes way better pay.

lol, better pay, less stress... sorry I am stumped

[axion]

yeah im classicaly french trained, in canada of course. but intense nonetheless, i cant take really too many more courses in this area.

im looking at bartending, i like the late night hours that i have right now cooking so that could work.

[Ragga_Wh0re]

serving and tending is fun but still stressful,especially if you work with people who think theyre still in highschool...which accounts for like 90% of servers and bartenders.

I guess the upside is making crazy money in tips.Be prepared for alot of late nights and coming in to work on your days off last minute because one of your fuck face coworkers failed to show for thier shift:)

[TrixX]

^^^ serving can really be the fuckin shits sometimes! but i love money so i deal! haha, the dinning room can be more stressful than the kitchen at times for sure

[Senior]

Do construction.

[Goat]

Try busting into a server position at a classy joint. Get into the right place and you can make 100-300+$/night cash.
Unless if you're ugly. Then you're fucked.

Throwing an idea out there, do with it what you will: Construction jobs (plumbing, carpentry, electricians) are making great cash right now. If you don't want to do physical labour, and know anything at all about cars, check out a parts position. You order parts and document what goes out, stock the occasional shelf. Usually starts 12-14$/hour. After doing the 2 year program, you can look to score a little under 30/hour.

[Ragga_Wh0re]

^I didnt work at a classy place and id walk home with atleast $100 every night in tips.It doesnt really matter where ya work,it matters how you present yourself and how good of an experience you give your customer.Servers and bartenders make or break a persons night,strive for excellence and you`ll reap the benefits.

[Senior]

Originally Posted by Goat

Try busting into a server position at a classy joint. Get into the right place and you can make 100-300+$/night cash.
Unless if you're ugly. Then you're fucked.

Throwing an idea out there, do with it what you will: Construction jobs (plumbing, carpentry, electricians) are making great cash right now. If you don't want to do physical labour, and know anything at all about cars, check out a parts position. You order parts and document what goes out, stock the occasional shelf. Usually starts 12-14$/hour. After doing the 2 year program, you can look to score a little under 30/hour.

Lots of money in construction right now. The first 3 years are generally so so but after that earning potential goes way up. Most positions start around $12+/hour and journey men are making $25+/hour. My boss bills at $35+/hour. Also depending on which trade you go into it's fairly easy to get into sub contracting which pays out based on the amount of work and not the time it takes. I do steel stud and drywall and with more experience I could make $500+ day on the right contract, say for example boarding ($10-$15 a sheet) a warehouse. Of course the flip side of contracting is you don't have guaranteed work and if a project goes poorly you could lose money.

Other than that I've been doing live marketing or as I prefer to call it corporate whoring. I've made $16-$22/hour depending on the contract but regardless it's really easy and fairly enjoyable work. If you're interested I can get you an interview for a Cannon contract that runs May 5th till the end of June. It's only 12/hours a week but it's $22.50/hour.

[Liqwid]

Originally Posted by Ragga_Wh0re

especially if you work with people who think theyre still in highschool...which accounts for like 90% of servers and bartenders.

hey Ky-lee.........gina has this problem. she acts soo stuck up, and thinks she better then everyone, and guess what?

none of the people in the rest. like her........

if she dosn't change shes sooo going to get fired.......or something...

.dalyn.

[Goat]

Other than that I've been doing live marketing or as I prefer to call it corporate whoring. I've made $16-$22/hour depending on the contract but regardless it's really easy and fairly enjoyable work. If you're interested I can get you an interview for a Cannon contract that runs May 5th till the end of June. It's only 12/hours a week but it's $22.50/hour.

I appreciate the gesture, but i'm happily employed waiting tables and looking for work in my trade (1st yr apprentice auto mechanic).
What would the work entail though?

[axion]

Originally Posted by Goat

Try busting into a server position at a classy joint. Get into the right place and you can make 100-300+$/night cash.
Unless if you're ugly. Then you're fucked.

Throwing an idea out there, do with it what you will: Construction jobs (plumbing, carpentry, electricians) are making great cash right now. If you don't want to do physical labour, and know anything at all about cars, check out a parts position. You order parts and document what goes out, stock the occasional shelf. Usually starts 12-14$/hour. After doing the 2 year program, you can look to score a little under 30/hour.

im looking for something other than serving, the little experience i have had serving i hated it. im not stoked on the idea of having to sell things to customers.

ive considered construction quite a bit. i need to stay in this industry though, i like the lifestyle. plus i just spent 15000$ on culinary school, i figure i might as well make some use of it even if its not cooking.

[Liqwid]

GSA's make alot of money

[Ragga_Wh0re]

Originally Posted by axion

im looking for something other than serving, the little experience i have had serving i hated it. im not stoked on the idea of having to sell things to customers.

ive considered construction quite a bit. i need to stay in this industry though, i like the lifestyle. plus i just spent 15000$ on culinary school, i figure i might as well make some use of it even if its not cooking.

the only thing you sell to your customers is yourself!

[lithe]

hey senior, hook me up with that cannon job! i am a corporate whore! (and how!)

[miss.myra]

My roommate Bret (soma!) should be posting in this thread. He works in the hospitality industry at a hotel, it's also what he's going to school for...

the things i think are pluses is that you can really go ANYWHERE in the world with it, the work seems very enjoyable..and you can't beat the sweet discounts you get when you yourself travel.

[fable]

Originally Posted by axion

Does anyone here work in the hospitality industry?

If so, as what?

Im looking for a career change, but wanting to remain in this industry. Im looking for insight/advice from people with experience.

Get at me.

Hey mate, feeling a bit of the burn, and wondering about the future? I know this feeling all too well. Usually it was after a shitshow of a weekend feeding a billion people on my day off, working late Sunday, and having to do inventory Monday!! Then my patissier calls in sick, Hill Foods shorted me 50kg of shortribs, one of the owners wants me to do run liver and onions(no joke!), my dishwasher is worrying about his family and is rendered immobile(understandably so, he was Sri Lankan) My labor budget gets cut yet again, but we have taken on two more contracts with Japanese Tour Groups. and I realize my stash of blow is done, I’m puking blood, and I haven’t slept in a week!!!

Heheh, sorry bout that rant, but I do understand what you are feeling. I think if you honestly want to make sure you are in a position where you can apply the chefs training you got(and worked your fucking ass off for, no less) perhaps you can hook in with a catering company, or consultant position??

-The catering thing is pretty easy to jam into, there actually a bit of a shortage of really skilled creative AND business savvy chefs. Of course the bigger places are more conveyor belt styles, so this might just very well suck out your will to live. The smaller end place are harder to crack, but then opens up the environment of private chefs, in home caterers and such. But in this avenue, you deal with all corporate mothers turn retired "celebrity chef" and the landscape is very incestuous, and therefore slim in terms of accepting new kids on the block. (Even if they have burns and raging ulcer to prove their experience.

-Personally if you have the balls to go for a business venture, you can train yourself in a field that supplies the industry and customize it to serve restaurants, or food establishments exclusively - catered to the hospitality industries needs. I use one of my old welders as an example. Pete Bustan, of Diablo , this guy was awesome! Super funny, sketchy, skiddy guy, with two crazy dogs - BUT HE COULD WELD!! And he has a real artistic streak which suited him for custom restaurant work. He then turned around and pitched him that way, and every single Earls, Joeys and Cactus Club picked him up!! These establishments aren’t haute cuisine, but "fine casual" is the fastest growing style of restaurant in N.America, and he did himself good!.

-So basically what I’m saying, is crack into a trade or sector that you can learn with relative ease, time and money, and use all your skills and knowledge related to your past experience and produce/tweak a product or service to match the specific needs of restaurants and such.

-The last suggestion of course is the obvious -BECOME A FOOD REP! But if you ain’t in the HARD SELL, this career change may be trying on your patience and soul. But admittedly some of the smaller suppliers run a tighter, less corporate intense business. But hook into SYSCO, and work downtown and Andy Agnasi(sp?) will have you selling YOUR ASS OFF! It isn’t much different at Allied, Bosa, Centennial Meats, or even most of the fish mongers these days.

-A few more flakey suggestions would be to crack into interior/industrial design and design kitchens( I bet there’s a few things you’d like to change in the kitchens you've been in - I know I did!!!)

-Get a job with the chemical suppliers - Chemleb, Envirotech yadda yadda

-Get a job with the linen/fine restaurant suppliers - Alsco Linens and such.

-Get a job with the HEALTH DEPARTMENT!!!! Hahah, you know you will always be fed well, and have your ass kissed!

-Get a job with Restaurant relate tech sectors , like Squirrel, or the latest company.....?(I forgot the name) We all know that if restaurant owners are smart, they install thorough back ends, computer set ups and such, and most managers would pay their weight in gold, for a good tech support person who doesn’t sound like they would rather shit on a manager, then help him/her.
-Become a concierge, but this is tough racket to get into. Good concierges in this city are like micro celebrities in themselves! So I really wouldn’t know where to go, because the concierges I know would point you to the back door, and then lock it before you realize you've been had!

Personally i would suggest to go big, and chase whatever strong business plan/dream that i know you have in your head. If i had a quarter for every good chef i've known that settled to just trudge it out for some other prick, rich fucker, instead of chasing their own dreams i'd have enought restaurants to employ them all! A good chef is NOT just a good cook, and you know this. You have a shitload of trasnferable skills, on top of a psycotic sense of organization, discipline, on top of creativity, so dont sell yourself short, hell if things dont work out, getting a job slinging quality food shouldnt be too hard for you.

Good luck bro, feel free to gimme a buzz if you want to bounce some more ideas off someone.

ps: I cooked for the first time since i went into rehab the other night for 10 of my friends. It was so fucking amazing! I miss it.

pc/ez

Shak

[soma]

Front line staff will always make more money than enrty level manangement in hospitality. saying that Restaurants are especially hurting for Assistant managers right now. If you do well at your job then within a year or two of paying your dues you will be making good money.

As a cook catering and special events is another industry that is booming right now that I would reccomend getting in to.