1. Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,244
Enrollment
15,557
Chefs are often considered artists, who create culinary masterpieces pleasing to vision and palate alike. Sous chefs are there at every step of the process, assisting the head chef, in a professionally run kitchen, in making the magic happen.
They contribute to creating the menu, making sure every necessary ingredient is in stock and fresh, supervise sanitation, and do everything in their power to reach the expected quality standard of the meals.
Defying stereotypical gender roles, or perhaps adhering to less obvious ones, the sous chef position is primarily filled by men, especially in high-end kitchens. With all the long hours, heat, and a high-pressure working environment, prejudice against women has them framed as not being physically and emotionally strong enough to work in kitchens, and receive fewer opportunities to hold high-status jobs as cooks.
Restaurants behind the scenes are apparently not just the site for exquisite food preparation but prove to be an excellent field for institutionalized sexism as well. Go sous chefettes, it is high time to change this demographic!
There are certain skills that many sous chefs have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed business skills, communication skills and creativity.
If you're interested in becoming a sous chef, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 24.1% of sous chefs have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.4% of sous chefs have master's degrees. Even though some sous chefs have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of executive chef you might progress to a role such as general manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title director of food and beverage.
What Am I Worth?
The role of a sous chef includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general sous chef responsibilities:
There are several types of sous chef, including:
So, get this - as a cook, you'll spend a lot of your time cooking. Crazy, we know. But that's not all you'll be doing. In addition to the food actually being cooked properly, most people like it to be seasoned. Between the preparation and seasoning, this is where you get to be creative.
When you think of a cook, you probably think of a restaurant setting but in actuality, cooks are needed in a lot of different places, this includes schools, hospitals, and even private households. One thing that is consistent is the inconsistent schedule.
Sometimes you'll work a night shift, other times you'll work super early in the morning. You may even have to work on a holiday. And don't be surprised with a weekend shift. The good news is that formal education isn't really necessary. Sometimes culinary creativity comes naturally.
As a sort of in-charge person, line cooks definitely have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. While you might think the head chef does most of the heavy lifting, think again. The majority of the food is prepared by the line cook.
Now, the head chef, or even the sous chef, give line cooks the direction they need to make the food. Typically, as a line cook, you'll have a particular place in the kitchen that you'll look after. Like, maybe you'll get assigned to the grill, and then you'll be in charge of everything at the grill. Or you might be assigned to the veggie prep area.
Wherever you are assigned, you should be prepared to work some crazy hours. Since you're preparing the food, you'll need at least an hour, if not two, to get everything ready. Once your line is prepped, then you're ready to take on your shift. With that extra 1-2 hours, you'll probably be working around 8-10 hours a shift.
MMM, do you smell that? Working as a chef comes with some good-smelling perks, especially if you're good at what you do. Chefs are in charge of preparing food for establishments where food is served, typically restaurants.
The schedule of a chef varies widely depending on where you're cooking. Sometimes they work early mornings, late evenings, weekends and even holidays. Yes, people still want to eat your delicious food on Christmas
Mouse over a state to see the number of active sous chef jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where sous chefs earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,244
Enrollment
15,557
Cincinnati, OH • Private
In-State Tuition
$11,000
Enrollment
25,973
Ithaca, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,188
Enrollment
15,105
Austin, TX • Private
In-State Tuition
$10,610
Enrollment
40,329
Boston, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
Marshall, MN • Private
In-State Tuition
$8,612
Enrollment
2,022
Mercedita, PR • Private
In-State Tuition
$5,914
Enrollment
4,155
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 14.6% of sous chefs listed culinary on their resume, but soft skills such as business skills and communication skills are important as well.
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Sous Chef templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Sous Chef resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
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Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a sous chef. The best states for people in this position are Hawaii, New Jersey, California, and Massachusetts. Sous chefs make the most in Hawaii with an average salary of $70,943. Whereas in New Jersey and California, they would average $67,942 and $58,125, respectively. While sous chefs would only make an average of $55,116 in Massachusetts, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Nevada
$54,340
Avg. Salary
2. Hawaii
$70,943
Avg. Salary
3. District of Columbia
$55,632
Avg. Salary
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bon Appétit Management | $59,291 | $28.51 | 63 |
2 | Goodwin Recruiting | $58,420 | $28.09 | 172 |
3 | Hyatt Hotels | $54,995 | $26.44 | 89 |
4 | Ruth's Chris Steak House | $54,784 | $26.34 | 50 |
5 | The Ritz-Carlton Hotel | $54,465 | $26.19 | 112 |
6 | Hilton | $53,781 | $25.86 | 148 |
7 | Norwegian Cruise Line | $52,193 | $25.09 | 56 |
8 | SAGE Dining Services | $51,439 | $24.73 | 56 |
9 | Marriott International | $51,355 | $24.69 | 172 |
10 | Embassy C E S | $50,458 | $24.26 | 51 |
It takes 4 years of professional experience to become a sous chef. That is the time it takes to learn specific sous chef skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education. If you include the normal education requirements to complete a college degree, then it takes 7 to 9 years years to become a sous chef.