Becoming a baker

Being a baker wasn't really on my radar as a long-term plan. Back when I was a teenager, I loved baking, especially chocolate chip cookies. My mom kept suggesting that I consider culinary school instead of heading off to a 4-year liberal arts college, but, of course, I didn't pay much attention to her advice back then.

As I grew up, I started getting into making cakes, but I still didn’t think baking was my calling. Once I started working, I climbed the ladder in retail management and eventually became a hotel general manager. I spent years in the hospitality and customer service world.

Over the years, I realized I wasn't really baking much. I just couldn't find the time, and when I did, I only made quick and easy stuff because I was either too tired or too busy. It wasn't until I went on vacation and talked with my husband that I admitted how much I missed baking and how frustrated I was that work seemed to be taking over my life.

Since he's such a supportive husband, he began searching for culinary schools and books for me... even while we were on vacation. I enrolled at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts and landed a job in the industry just 5 months after deciding to switch things up in my life. This change meant taking a $30,000 pay cut and adjusting to a new work schedule where I'm on the job while most people are still snoozing. But I'm way happier now and can hang out with my loved ones without stressing about my phone going off.

Takeaway: Listen to your parents—they really know their stuff when it comes to career choices.