How to Be a Food Service Manager with Formal Education

There are more than 660,000 restaurants in the United States of America. They serve every kind of food imaginable, employ people from all corners of the globe, and pump more than $766 billion into the country's economy, according to Statista. They're where holidays are celebrated, tears are drowned, and people gather with friends and family for fun and food.

They also offer great job opportunities for food service managers. Don't worry if you've never heard of a food service manager; many people haven't. After all, the chef's and owners tend to get all of the attention from diners and media types.

But it's the food service managers who keep America's restaurants running.

They operate behind the scenes with stealth-like strategic precision, balancing the books, keeping an eye on quality, and making sure that employees (including the chefs) are doing their jobs. They are the industry's unsung heroes.

If you're looking for a career that offers excitement, opportunities for advancement, and puts you smack dab in the middle of a growing industry, you should consider a career as a food service manager.

Here are five reasons why:

1) It's always interesting

The life a food service manager isn't for the idle.

It's a career path that is always interesting, thanks to a long list of duties that includes hiring employees, ordering food and supplies, keeping the kitchen equipment operational, overseeing quality control and safety standards, scheduling, managing budgets, and establishing high service standards. There are also other duties assigned, depending on the type of establishment you work at.

If you're the type of person who wants a job that allows you to use your creativity, troubleshooting skills, and energy in an array of different ways, you just might be happy as a food service manager.

2) They're in demand

Americans love to eat at restaurants. As recently as February 2018, a Nielsen study found that people across the country were eating out more than ever before, according to a story in Grocery Dive.

This is great news for food service managers. It also may explain why employment opportunities for people with the knowledge, skills, and experience to run restaurants are expected to grow by 9 percent through 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

If you're looking for a career in a growing industry, you might want to take a long look at a career in food service management.

3) Training is exciting

This isn't your average classroom experience. Sure, you'll study accounting, financial management, facility operations, and even a little algebra.

But you'll also get to dig into the art and science of leadership, wine and beverage management, special events, and how to use social media to market your restaurant.

And of course there's also a course on entrepreneurship. Because in order to succeed in the hyper-competitive food service industry, you're going to have to be resourceful, optimistic, and willing to think outside of the box.

Yes, studying to become a food service manager is exciting.

4) You can work anywhere in the world

A degree in food service management is more than proof that you have the skills and knowledge to run a restaurant, it's a ticket to take your career around the world.

Every city in every country has restaurants. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Moscow, Beijing, Istanbul, just to name a few. They all have more restaurants than you can imagine.

Don't like big-city living? No problem. Even small cities have excellent restaurants that are in need of the services of food service managers, as evidenced by this article posted on Thrillist.

If you study hard, learn your craft, and earn your degree, your food service management career can literally take you around the world.

5) Formal education can give you a leg up on the competition

Many food service managers start working in restaurants at a young age. They begin by bussing tables and washing dishes. Then they work their way up to being a line cook, part of the wait staff, or a crew leaders.

Through trial and error, they learn the business, and eventually rise to the rank of food service manager. It can be a long haul.

On the other hand, many others go to school, receive formal educations, and then jump into the job without spending years slogging their way up through the ranks.

Yes, earning your degree in food service management can save you time and give you a leg up on the competition. Restaurant owners will know that you have a solid and broad foundation on which to build--because you'll have the education to prove it.

Ready to get started?

Are you interested in working behind the scenes at a restaurant? If you want to earn an Bachelor of Science Degree in Food Service Management, ECPI University's Culinary Institute of Virginia offers this degree program at an accelerated pace. For more information, connect with a friendly admissions advisor today.

It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

DISCLAIMER – ECPI University makes no claim, warranty, or guarantee as to actual employability or earning potential to current, past or future students or graduates of any educational program we offer. The ECPI University website is published for informational purposes only. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information contained on the ECPI.edu domain; however, no warranty of accuracy is made. No contractual rights, either expressed or implied, are created by its content.

Gainful Employment Information – Food Service Management - Bachelor’s

For more information about ECPI University or any of our programs click here: http://www.ecpi.edu/ or http://ow.ly/Ca1ya.