What are some Career Opportunities in the Food Industry?

The food industry offers opportunities for food service managers from managing a tiny hole-in-the-wall cafe that’s a hit with locals to running a large dining facility at the state college and everywhere in between. Being a food service manager is a flexible position which many different personalities can find a home in. When thinking about food service management, it’s helpful to not think about it was one career, but instead break it down into the many different paths a food service manager can go in this varied and exciting field.

What Does a Food Service Manager Do?

Food service managers are the managers of restaurants, diners, cafeterias, and any other food-service establishment. They're normally the ones who do the interviewing and hiring, who ensure that everyone is doing their jobs correctly, who handle customer complaints, and who take care of everything else that hasn't been delegated to another staff member. If you've ever been in a restaurant and asked to speak to the manager, the person you were really asking for was the food service manager.

Food service managers work wherever there is a food-serving establishment. If you work as one, you can go to hospitals, cruise ships, school cafeterias, even companies that run catering services.

Finding Your Niche

Food service management in all segments of the industry has a common base of knowledge. However, if you go into this field, you can choose a more specific niche. Some managers prefer bakery and pastry shops. Others prefer hospital-meal services because of the need for good nutrition knowledge. Yet others like schools for the challenge of creating tasty but nutritious food that follows state and federal guidelines. And yes, others are just fine with conventional restaurant and fast-food management.

Sometimes your niche finds you; you apply to work in a restaurant for experience and work your way up into management, for example. Other times you have a specific type of establishment in mind. What you may want to do is work in a few areas and see which holds your interest the most.

Working Conditions

Food service management can be fast-paced. You have to deal with mealtime rushes, upset customers, and slacking workers all at the same time. Yet it can be a rewarding job because you know you are having a direct impact on the health and well-being of your customers and staff. Good management and happy staff and customers can create a family-like atmosphere. In those situations, even a stressful day can be fulfilling overall.

Education Requirements

A bachelor's degree in food service management is becoming a more common background; it isn't always required, but it can help because it shows you've had specific training in both kitchen techniques and administration. You're more likely to hit the ground running with this training in your history.

What's the Outlook?

Food service management is experiencing fairly stable and normal growth. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the field is expected to grow about 5%, about average, between 2014 and 2024. As of 2015, the median annual salary for a food service manager is $48,690, or $23.41 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Are you excited about the possibility of earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Food Service Management?  If you want to get the education you need to make a difference in the field, consider ECPI University’s Culinary Institute of Virginia. With an accelerated schedule and year-round classes you could earn your degree sooner and start working faster. For more information, contact a helpful admissions advisor today.

It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

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Gainful Employment Information – Food Service Management - Bachelor’s

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