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Define the Job?: In charge of preparing baked goods for customers and running a business.

What duties does this job entail?: duties include creating recipes, ordering ingredients, and coordinating baking schedules to produce breads, cakes, pastries, pies, cookies, and other goods. Customer service and business leading skills.

What would a typical workday be like?: Get to the bakery around 5am, take inventory and make a list of ingredients that need to be ordered and baked goods that need to be made. Begin preparing the baked goods around 6am. Open bakery at 7am. serve customers and bake throughout the day. Close the bakery by 7 pm, end the night by going shopping (will only be done twice a week or as needed for specific ingredients that cannot be ordered.).

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What sort of environment would you be responsible for working in?: I would be working in a relaxed and very laid back chill environment. Music playing at all times, very cozy building and space inside of the bakery.

How many hours are in a typical work week?: I would own the business so I would make my own hours but the bakery opens every day at 7am and closes at 7pm and is closed on Sundays.

Would you work nights and weekends?: I would work nights and weekends according to the bakery hours and any time as needed outside of those hours.

Would you work alone or as part of a team?: I would work primarily alone with a few other very close colleauges that would help me run the bakery. Me, my wife, and anyone else that we have working would be the only people working.

Is the job physically or emotionally demanding?: It isn't necessarily any of those, its a very relaxed place and lots of time to pace ourselves however we need. It would be stressful at points as I would assume it is stressful running any business but other than that I would enjoy it because it is my dream.

Are you inside, outside, sitting, active, etc?: The bakery would be indoors with a little bit of outdoor seating, I would stay indoors most of the time in an active but laid back environment.

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How much money can you expect to earn in this occupation in PA?: Since this is a business that I would own I can expect to bring in 100% of the money that we make in sales. I would obviously have to distribute it to all the expenses that come with running a bakery like rent, ingredients/groceries, furniture/decorations, wages, and emergency funds.

Would you be paid an hourly wage or yearly salary?: I would not be paid hourly since I own the business, I would simply budget the money we bring in to everything that is needed to and then extra money would be considered spending money.

What types of benefits are common? [Benefits: healthcare, dental, life insurance, retirement benefits, sick leave, vacations (paid or unpaid,) profit sharing, educational benefits, etc.]: Like I said since I own the business I can kind of make my own rules in a way. I can determine When I get to go on vacation and the profit sharing between my partners. In terms of healthcare and insurance type of things, those would not be provided because this is a small business not a big corporation with an employer. I get to decide when I go on vacation and for how long although it wont be very often if I am the primary person running the business.

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How many people hold jobs in this field in PA?: Around 13,500 people hold baker jobs in the whole of Pennsylvania.

What businesses or industries employ most of these workers?: The food industry employs most of these workers because baking is a type of culinary skill and a bakery is a type of restaurant.

Where are the jobs most likely to be located in our state? In the country?: In more active metropolitan areas like bigger cities. Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh are the biggest areas with the most amount of bakers and bakeries. In the country is the most populated states and cities as well, like New York, California, Texas, Florida, etc.

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What type of degree would you need to pursue a career in this field?: This type of career doesn't require a specific degree to succeed. It only primarily requires a high school diploma. Any type of technical or culinary school experience would be very useful as you are going to be working in the kitchen a lot. A lot of the skills you would learn from this field is aquired through on-the-job training, which might include a type of apprenticeship program.

What kind of personality traits, skills, and training should you have?: Some personality traits that are needed to succeed in this field would be patience, organization, and optimism. With any type of risk you are going to need to be optimistic and opening a business is a big risk, it is a huge investment and is very difficult to pull off if you are not organized. It can take a very long time for it to finally pay off and be worth the investment that is why patience is key to this field. Some skills that are needed are the obvious customer service skills that are needed when dealing with people and serving people on a day to day basis. Also leadership skills because more often than not, as a bakery owner you are going to be leading other people that work under you and alongside you in the bakery. As far as training goes, you should be able to handle yourself in the kitchen before starting a business that is selling any type of food, that is a given.

Which high school courses or extracurricular activities would be valued?: Some high school courses that would be valued in this field are any courses that involve cooking or food in any way. Any type of experience with food or cooking, in the kitchen or not, is great to have prior to getting into a field that requires that type of work. Extracurricular activities might include recreational baking or cooking and making food for you or others outside of school and work.

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Five post-secondary schools that have prestigious educational programs in this field - attempt to find ones in PA:

Northampton Community College (*30 minute drive from Emmaus*)

Walnut Hill College (#4 Best School for Culinary Arts in United States)

Drexel University (#12 Best School for Culinary Arts in United States)

Indiana University (#13 Best School for Culinary Arts in United States)

Pennsylvania College of Technology (#37 Best School for Culinary Arts in United States)

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List 2 benefits to this career:

The ability to work anywhere in the world. There are so many demands for bakers in the world and there are so many places that would hire a baker because bakeries and baked goods exist in every culture.

I run my own business. I am my own boss. There is something that has always sounded so good about being your own boss. I have always wanted to have my own thing that I am in charge of and I can control in a way that I want to.

List 1 downside to this career

The inconsistent income is the biggest downside. There is no telling how a business will do, it is all up to guessing. You can work so hard but if you don't get customers in your business then there is no point because you aren't making any money. That is the biggest downside.