How much does a chef fresh out of culinary school make ?

Question

How much does a chef fresh out of culinary school make ?

Answer 1

$15/hr tops as a line cook.  

Answer 2

Most likely $8/hour to start.

The best you can hope for is casual dining line cook jobs until you get some real kitchen experience.

Once you have a few years and a few different kitchens under your belt you can make better money.

Answer 3

not a lot. At first you start out in a kitchen as a prep chef, then you move up the ladder to soux, then if your lucky...executive, but its a lot of hard grunt work, long hours and not very polite people. My friend spent 40k on a degree from the french culinary institute and when she graduated, she got a job in a restaurant as a prep chef making 9 bucks an  hour, now shes back to being an administrator, but she owes all this money now.

Answer 4

I agree, not very much at first. The more experience you have, the more you will make. Having a degree doesn't necessarily mean you will make more money either. I worked at a big hotel that hired people with a degree and people with no experience at all at the exact same pay. Like 8.50/9.50 depending on where you live. I'm working on a blog about the pros and cons of culinary school if you would like to check it out. http://daizy-culinaryarts.blogspot.com

Good Luck