Cooking Degree Programs
How to Pick the Right One Near Bergenfield New Jersey
You have made a wonderful career choice to become a cook or chef by enrolling in a culinary institute near Bergenfield NJ. You will not only be taught how to create extraordinary meals or prepare lavish desserts, you'll also be able to make a nice living doing it. However, exactly how do you set about choosing a culinary college once you've decided to enroll? What qualifications should you consider and compare among the contending culinary institutes before arriving at your final choice? Remember that you must choose the right program and degree in order to be a success in the hospitality and restaurant fields. There are a wide variety of options to select from, starting with a certificate or diploma program and progressing to attaining an undergraduate as well as a graduate degree. You may attend a small culinary college, an online college, or enroll in a prestigious culinary institute that offers more advanced degrees. The kind of degree and school you select will probably be based on how much money and time you can afford to spend, together with your ultimate career objective. When you have determined what your primary area of interest and budget are, you can start assessing the cooking programs that meet your preliminary qualifications. Depending upon the degree and type of culinary school you decide on, you could be employed as a professional chef or cook in just 6 months. So before we dig more into the method of picking a school, let's speak a little more about the degree and culinary school options that are available.
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Culinary Arts School Degree Programs
Just as with many other fields or professions in Bergenfield NJ, there are a variety of degree programs that are available in the culinary arts. At the most basic level, you can sign up for a local cooking class, which are more informal in nature and can run from several hours to a few weeks. Typically a diploma or a certificate is awarded after completion. They can be comprehensive in nature, such as teaching how to cook French meals, or they may be very targeted and focus on one dish, for instance Crepes Suzette. Naturally if you are looking for a more formal education applicable for a career in the restaurant industry, you will probably want to enroll in a degree program. With a degree program, you will be required to devote significantly more time.
- Associate's Degrees can take as long as six months to 2 years to finish.
- Bachelor's Degrees typically require as much as four years of training.
- Masters Degrees can take an added 2 years or even longer after obtaining a Bachelor's.
Additional advanced degree options may be offered, such as Doctoral programs or specialized programs offered by culinary arts institutes. Probably the most important point to remember when determining which degree to strive for is ensuring that it provides the degree and education required to advance your ultimate career objectives.
Culinary Colleges
After you have made your selection regarding the type of instruction and degree that you want to pursue, you can start your search for the cooking school, college or institute that offers it. For example, if your desire is to become a chef specializing in Italian cuisine, then obviously you will focus on those colleges that provide the appropriate training. Or you can opt for an institute based on its reputation or other criteria (we'll cover several of those later) and then select the best degree program available that is compatible with your career objectives in Bergenfield NJ. However you arrive at your decision, culinary schools normally fall under 3 distinct categories:
- Cooking Schools. Some cooking schools do offer degree programs, but generally they offer diplomas or certificates. Their courses tend to be more specialized in nature, and they can last anywhere from a couple of months to as long as 3 or 4 years.
- Community Colleges. Area community colleges can be more inexpensive than the majority of private schools and a large number have exceptional programs. They almost exclusively offer Associate's Degrees and are founded and maintained by either state or local governments.
- Culinary Arts Schools and Institutes. The advanced training and degrees are furnished by culinary schools and institutes. Some institutes provide the most respected and highest standard of training in academia. However, since they are private schools they tend to be more expensive than their public counterparts, some a lot more.
Selecting a culinary institute will not only be dependent on the type of program or degree you would like to pursue, but also how much you have to invest in your education. If you decide to attend a public institution to lower expenses, remember that out-of-state residents generally must pay a higher tuition than in-state residents. In addition, a lot of community colleges and regional public schools have lower tuition rates for local residents. So be sure to research the public alternatives within New Jersey as well as within the Bergenfield NJ area to locate the most economical options.
Culinary Arts Online Programs
Some prospective students may find that there are no culinary arts institutions that are within commuting proximity of their Bergenfield NJ residence. One option is to enroll in online training within the convenience of one's residence. The convenience and flexibility makes it the only solution for some students that continue working full time while attending school. In addition there are more programs online than ever that are accredited. Keep in mind that a considerable part of the instruction will be provided under an externship. Externships are programs where students work under regional chefs or other cooking practitioners so that they receive practical training beyond the virtual classroom. Just make sure that the online program you choose is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education approved organization (more on this later). And so if you are disciplined enough to be able to go to classes and study in this more independent fashion, earning a culinary degree online may be the ideal option for you.
Comparing Culinary Arts Colleges
At this point you should have decided on the type of degree that you want to earn, and if you would like to enroll in a public or private college. Since there a large number of culinary arts institutions in the Bergenfield area and within the Country, you will want to develop a checklist of essential qualifications so that you can start narrowing your options. Some obvious qualifiers, such as location and cost are a good place to begin. But deciding on a school because it is the closest or the most affordable is not the ideal way to decide on your education. There are other considerations, for example accreditation and reputation that you should evaluate also. Therefore, below are some crucial areas that you must research for every school as you compare them and make your final decision.
Accreditation. It's very important that the cooking program you decide on has some type of accreditation from either a regional or a national authority. As previously mentioned, the accrediting agency should be a U.S. Department of Education certified agency, such as the American Culinary Federation (ACF). ACF accredited schools have successfully completed a thorough review regarding their curriculum, instructors and facilities. Therefore not only does accreditation help ensure that you will receive excellent training, but it may also help in acquiring a student loan or financial aid which are generally not accessible for non-accredited schools.
Age. Recently established schools generally have the benefit of possessing modern equipment and facilities. However, they may not have been operating long enough to garner an accreditation or to develop a reputation. Conversely, more established schools may still be using their original, dated equipment, but have established a lengthy track record of success and acquired one or more accreditations. Also, the longer a school has been in business, the more graduates the school can solicit for its job placement program. Certainly there is some give and take dependent on the age of the culinary schools. And older, more highly regarded schools usually update their facilities and equipment. The valuable takeaway is that in the best case scenario, your chosen school will have an excellent reputation, accreditation and a modern facility with newer equipment.
Job Placement Rates. Initially, ask what the graduation rates are for the culinary institutions you are looking at. Low graduation rates are signs that many students were dissatisfied with either the institutes or the programs and dropped out. They can also suggest that the instructors were not competent to teach the curriculum. Ask the schools to supply their job placement rates as well. If a college has a high job placement rate, it will help confirm that it has a great or exceptional reputation within the culinary community, in addition to a broad network of professional connections. Be skeptical of any school that will not provide this information.
Location. The culinary institute that you enroll in should be within driving distance of your Bergenfield home, unless you are able to move. You may look into attending classes online, but you would still need to travel for your externship training. On the other hand, maybe you have decided to attend a specific culinary school located in a different state because of its prominence and programs offered. It would be a good idea to pay a visit to the campus before enrolling, to make sure that you are comfortable with the location and your future living conditions. Inspect the training facilities personally to make certain they are modern and that the equipment is state of the art. Keep in mind also that some schools focus their job placement programs within their local communities, so pick a location where you will enjoy working.
Class Sizes. The ideal approach to learn how to cook is with a lot of personalized instruction. If the cooking college you enroll in has bigger classes, you will most likely get limited individual attention from the instructors. The ideal manner in which to assess the interaction and communication between faculty and students is to attend some of the classes. Ask a couple of the students what their experience has been. Ascertain if they are satisfied with the level of attention they get in class in addition to the overall training. Also, speak with a few of the teachers and determine what their teaching philosophies are along with their backgrounds and qualifications.
Flexible Class Schedules. There is no sense in enrolling in a cooking college if you will be unable to attend the classes. So make certain that the school you pick offers class scheduling that will accommodate your busy lifestyle. If you can only attend at night or on weekends near Bergenfield NJ due to your work schedule, check that the school you pick offers either weekend or evening classes. If you can only attend part-time, check that the culinary college has a part-time alternative. Also, find out what the make-up protocol is if you have to miss a class due to work, family or other obligations.
Find Out More About Cooking Schools in Bergenfield
Enroll in the Right Bergenfield Culinary School
A successful career in the restaurant and hospitality profession is contingent upon deciding on the appropriate culinary school. As we have addressed, there are several things that you need to consider when comparing schools, for example their accreditation, reputations, and training facilities. Just like any important decision, you should begin by gathering information, and the optimal way to do that is by contacting culinary arts schools directly, either in person or by telephone. If you're unsure about which schools to consider, you may need to think about talking to chefs in your city about any cooking schools they endorse. Later use the Internet to investigate these schools further before contacting them. By taking the time to exhaustively research each of your education alternatives, you will be in a more ideal position to make an enlightened decision. And when you select the ideal school, you will have a great beginning toward your aspiration of becoming a chef in Bergenfield New Jersey.