Salary Information for Those with a Culinary Arts Degree

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Few things can influence the salary and earning potential for people working in the food service industry quite like having a culinary arts degree. By earning your associate’s degree in culinary arts, you demonstrate to potential and current employers that you have made a firm commitment to your career. We’re going to take a look at culinary arts degrees and how having one will influence your salary. If you’ve ever been interested in learning more about culinary arts salaries, this article should answer most of your questions.

What is a Culinary Arts Degree?

A culinary arts degree is usually an associate’s degree given to someone who has successfully completed a culinary arts program. Normally, culinary arts programs are offered at community colleges and dedicated culinary schools around the country. You may be wondering why not just learn on the job rather than spend time in school, and this is a legitimate question. You’ll see the big difference in a moment (hint: it has to do with earnings).

By pursuing a culinary arts degree rather than just taking a job as a cook and learning on the job, you show initiative and a long-term commitment to the culinary arts. This will typically lead to employers having more respect for you; thus, compensating you much better than had you just “worked your way up” on the job. Culinary arts programs will also give you education and training in restaurant management as well as cooking, making you more valuable to employers.

Comparing Culinary Arts Salaries

Cooks who learn on the job will typically start out earning around $10 per hour. Assuming you can work 40 hours a week (and you have no need for things like vacations), you can earn $20,800 per year. After working your way up the kitchen ladder after five years of experience, you can expect to earn about $12 per hour. Assuming the same as above (40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year), you can earn $24,960 per year. The reality is often a bit different, and a bit darker. Many cooks (people cooking without a culinary arts degree) work closer to 30 hours per week, which drops annual salary down to $15,600 at $10 per hour and $18,720 at $12 per hour.

When we look at culinary arts salaries, things get a lot brighter. Most chefs (people cooking who have earned a culinary arts degree) work full-time, not part-time and average much higher median annual salaries of about $22.42 per hour, which works out to $46,620 per year. Even starting out (in a small market), chefs earn about the same as a cook with five years of experience, and in larger markets, first year chefs can easily earn more than a cook with many years of experience.

As with most careers, the more education you have, the higher your salary is likely to be, and the culinary arts are no exception. The next step for you is to contact your local culinary arts school or community college for more information on their culinary arts degree programs.