Do all Truckers whine about their companies?

Well I guess you figured since I don't know anything about trucking and am talking about it, you would give your .02 about professional cooking, of which you obviously know nothing.... fair enuf!

Let's start with culinary school..... they can charge you upto 60k for a good school, all the while selling you on the fact that you are going to be the next Julia Child, Alice Waters or Jerimiah Tower.

You get out of school with your brand spanking new diploma, upto $60k lighter, and you end up getting an entry level job you could have gotten anyway, with just one year's experience. Pay level- min. wage to $10/hr max.

Now, if 10/hr sounds okay to you, as you might be doing some OT, bear in mind lots of kitchens offer "shift pay" which means you get paid for your shift, regardless of how long you have to work. yes, this is illegal, yes, you can fight it.... but then your "in" into a decent kitchen is toast.

okay, say you make your bones, stick with it for a few years of relative poverty.... you have it made, right?

sort of.... now you become a sous chef or kitchen manager.... this basically means you are the exec chef'sb itch. You are in charge in the chef's absense, which means you are responsible for everything that goes on.
you are now on salary. usually around 30k. sounds good? now divide that by your 80 hr work week that you will have almost every week. Factor in the OT that you lose, and congrats, you have gone from making $10/hr to $5.76 and hour.... how do you feel ?

btw.... all this has been happening in an environment that contains fire, knives, cement and tile floors that you have been standing on for 10-16 hrs a day, not to mention your ex-con, illegal immigrant and general misfit coworkers who also have access to that fire, knives, etc... and usually have issues with authority.

Okay, now you've been in the business 8-10 years, put in your dues, you are ready to be an exec. chef, right? Well, there are between 2-3 sous chefs for every exec chef, and even exec chefs occaisionally get out of work... so for that plum job, you not only have to compete with about 4-5 of your peers for every job, but perhaps an out of work exec. chef or two.

Finally, against all odds, you land a top position..... you have the money, (unless you started your own place) and you are ready to make your mark. Time to take a break and enjoy yourself? He11 no! prepare to continue working 80 hr weeks for your 60K+ salary, watching your employees like a hawk, because you don't want one hung-over line cook to ruin a night....

I made it to the top of that sh1thill and lived to tell about it, and since I specialized in catering, the downturn in my economy has all but decimated the chances of my getting a decent job anytime in the near future.
(catering is a non-essential expense, so anyone currently employed in catering is just happy to have a job, despite cut in hrs and pay that are happening... which means many fewer openings for experienced chefs)

Now, since I was able to work through over 10 years of that, and I have no dependants and/or partners to miss while I am gone on the road, do you REALLY think that some layover days and light freight will dissuade me AT ALL from staying in the industry?

in the words of bugs bunny, " you don't know me very well, do you? "

 

Enjoying christmas season, waiting for surgery (just after first of the year god willing) which should fix hernia and allow me to get on the road.

I just completed with a cdl school and have my class a with all endorsements, passport to run to Canada, and in process to get TWIC card.

Like I said in my post..... bad economy=no more hours/etc for catering.... especially in Michigan where I am now.

If I meet your hubby on the road, I'd love swap stories!
If he was in food biz, I'm sure he'll have some doozies to match mine.

 

and yes, I am so happy not to be working mya ss off during the holidays for once!
It is nice to actually be casual for a change.