Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between pastry chefs and apprentices can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a pastry chef, becoming an apprentice takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a pastry chef has an average salary of $44,879, which is higher than the $37,107 average annual salary of an apprentice.
The top three skills for a pastry chef include culinary, food handling and customer service. The most important skills for an apprentice are PET, customer service, and basic math.
| Pastry Chef | Apprentice | |
| Yearly salary | $44,879 | $37,107 |
| Hourly rate | $21.58 | $17.84 |
| Growth rate | 15% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 18,844 | 13,014 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
Pastry chefs are culinary artists specializing in the creation of desserts, bread, and sweets. They order supplies and ingredients for the restaurant, aside from creating, decorating, and presenting pastries. They are in charge of recruiting employees to aid in pastry goods production and other enterprise aspects. The skills required for this job are attention to detail, experience as a baker or any relevant role, knowledge about sanitation principles, creativity, and leadership skills.
An apprentice is responsible for learning specialized tasks on their chosen field through actual job training under the supervision of tenured staff. An apprentice's duties include performing administrative tasks as needed, creating observation reports of daily operations, providing possible recommendations on improving productivity, and adhering to the business' safety standards and regulatory procedures. An apprentice must be detail-oriented, fast-learner, and enthusiastic. An apprentice should also know how to accept constructive criticisms and feedback to improve performance and skill development.
Pastry chefs and apprentices have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pastry Chef | Apprentice | |
| Average salary | $44,879 | $37,107 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $78,000 | Between $26,000 And $51,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | Worcester, MA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Alaska |
| Best paying company | The Culinary Institute of America | Mid-South Management |
| Best paying industry | Media | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a pastry chef and an apprentice in terms of educational background:
| Pastry Chef | Apprentice | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Business |
| Most common college | Drexel University | - |
Here are the differences between pastry chefs' and apprentices' demographics:
| Pastry Chef | Apprentice | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.7% Female, 64.3% | Male, 78.4% Female, 21.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 10.7% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.3% Asian, 2.2% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 3% |