Advice on getting a job at a restaurant?

[Anonymous No.12021426]

Hey /ck/, long time no see. I was wondering if I could get some advice on jobs in the restaurant industry. I know this type of thread crops up fairly often but there's none I could find in the catalog atm. Long story short:
>I hate my current job as a grocery store cashier
>A lot.
>I want to quit but I need a new job first
>I have a college degree in new media with a focus on animation but that's a very tough industry to break into
>I don't want to work in fast food
>I don't have any experience actually working in the kitchen professionally, I'm just a hobbyist
More than a few of my friends and family think I'm some kind of Iron Chef level savant. Probably not true, but I do love to cook and people like what I make, so I figure working as a cook would be good for my sanity and wallet. What's the best approach for me? Should I start as a bus boy and try working my way up? Just got straight for prep cook? I've been looking online for job postings and there's a few for prep cooks in my area that don't list experience as a requirement.

[Anonymous No.12021447]

>>12021426
I would say find a smaller restaurant like a diner or something and ask for a dishwasher job. Chances are if you do well enough and express interest theyll be willing to give you a shot cooking. Diners are a great place to learn to work fast and adapt to special orders. After a couple years of that, if you want shoot for a job somewhere a little nicer to expand your repitoire.

[Anonymous No.12021458]

So your degree has completely gone to waste.

[Anonymous No.12021460]

>>12021426
If you're applying to an upscale restaurant for prep cook they're going to want to know you've used a knife professionally before and they'll want your knife skills on point.

And for the record, working as a cook will do nothing for your sanity or your wallet.

[Anonymous No.12021473]

>>12021458
It happens to plenty of people. You get talked into huge loans you can't afford before you're even old enough to commit to renting a car.

[Anonymous No.12021501]

>>12021426
Move to a ski resort town. They are always looking to staff their restaurants because most people only work seasonally, especially if resort employees receive free ski passes.

Additionally, if you can show up to work sober and show even a hint of motivation, you'll advance quickly and be able to transfer into better restaurants within the resort/hotel complex really fast. My first cooking job, with zero food-service experience beforehand, came this way, and after three years (with free skiing and plenty of wedding catering gigs during the off-season) I was working sous at a relatively high-end place at the main resort hotel, which I was able to leverage into a pretty good position at a fine-dining restaurant in the real world. Just know basic knife skills, food handling/sanitation, and equipment operation and you'll have no problem getting hired.

That said, kitchen work is underpaid, high-stress, and physically demanding, so really weigh your passion for food against your long-term goals before going down that road.

[Anonymous No.12021552]

>>12021447
>>12021460
Okay, start a little smaller, makes sense. I'll look at dishwasher stuff too.
>And for the record, working as a cook will do nothing for your sanity or your wallet.
Well, at the very least most of these positions I've looked at offer slightly better pay than my current job. And if I'm shut back in the kitchen most of the time instead of having to deal with senile old folks complaining that the sign said the price of grapes was five cents cheaper than what the register rang up, I'll probably be more sane.

>>12021458
Not in my opinion. College was a great time in both a social and educational sense, a literally life-changing part of my existence. Besides that actually having a Bachelor's degree of any kind opens up a lot of opportunity for a person regardless of the exact major your graduated with. It's the Holocene Era 12,019 after all, in America right now not having a college degree is like not having a highschool degree back in the 90s. Besides, just because I'm struggling to pay rent and working service-industry jobs now doesn't mean I won't find a job related to my degree later.

>>12021501
Not a terrible idea, though maybe not a ski resort town. I hate the cold like /pol/ hates Jews. Sanitation sounds straightforward, don't cross contaminate raw meats, wash your fucking hands, wear gloves, wear a hair net if needed, just act like an OCD germaphobe at work. Knife skills I definitely need to learn though, I'm entirely self-taught in that regard.
Any recommended online resources?
>That said, kitchen work is underpaid, high-stress, and physically demanding, so really weigh your passion for food against your long-term goals before going down that road.
Sound advice. I work at an ALDI as of now so I'm no stranger to high-stress, physically demanding work. For those of you not familiar ALDI is a German-owned discount grocery that's all about efficiency and literally times cashiers on transactions and lets you go if you're too slow overall.

[Anonymous No.12021577]

>>12021552
>hate the cold
Have you considered going transethnic? With a whiter ethnicity youll be able to enjoy non-poor sports.

[Anonymous No.12021599]

>>12021552
I'm >>12021501
If you don't want the ski resort town thing, there are similar opportunities at other kinds of tourist-oriented, seasonal communities, although the ones I'm thinking of (Moab, UT, Portland, ME, Squamesh) are all cold during the winter, so they might not be for you. As far as online resources I have no idea, since I just learned on the job, but I've heard nothing but glowing praise for Gordon Ramsay's intro to cooking skills series, which I think is available on YT.

Ironically, I left the restaurant industry to work as a local buyer for Whole Foods, so I kind of went the opposite direction of you, since I realize how much I value a set schedule, benefits, and a good wage since getting married and considering having a kid. Best of luck to ya either way

[Anonymous No.12021711]

>>12021577
I'm white anon, but I'm a Southernfag who grew up in Georgia and didn't see snow with his own eyes until he was already a teenager. Skiing is fun but only barely worth the cold. I draw the line at temperatures below 25F, that's just masochism to go out in that.

>>12021599
Yeah, there's probably some more temperate seasonal stuff in my part of the country. Plus I do exaggerate a touch, makes for better conversation. Thanks for the recommendation, looks very helpful so far. I certainly never thought of dicing an onion the way Ramsay did.

[Anonymous No.12023339]

>>12021426
Most places are fucking desperate for kitchen staff.
You'll likely be a dishwasher or a guy cutting vegetables unless you go to TAFE to get your chef's qualifications or you have a good resume
Long hours, shit pay, everyone's on meth just to stay awake through their shift, hard work, kitchen's hot as fuck

[Anonymous No.12023432]

>>12023339
>You'll likely be a dishwasher or a guy cutting vegetables
Fine with that, exactly what I expected given my experience level. Guess I already make shit pay and I'm already a drug addict and functional alcoholic so may as well.