Career Specializations

Catering is itself a very specialized form of culinary employment, and as of yet, no official specializations have emerged. This said, some caterers may display an expertise for one niche within the catering profession, such as mobile catering, boxed lunch services, weddings, or high-profile functions, such as prestigious business meetings, celebrity gatherings, and awards show after-parties. 

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Degree Levels

• Associate Degree in a Relevant Field: 2 years to complete
• Bachelor's Degree in a Relevant Field: 4 years to complete

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Education & Certification Requirements

As previously stated, on-the-job experience is an excellent way to forge a career in the catering world. Those interested, especially young people, should search for apprentice work with local caterers in their area to gain experience. At the high school level, students may seek out training in hospitality, a key virtue in catering; the Lodging Management Program, founded by the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, offers hospitality training to high school juniors and seniors in 450 high schools found in 45 states.

After high school, catering aspirants should earn a degree in culinary arts or hospitality management; excellent academic programs will either offer students internships or externships to help them refine their learning and begin constructing network contacts, or they will facilitate students' quests to participate in such experiences. Additional coursework in business management, entrepreneurship, marketing and accounting cannot be underestimated in its potential value for a budding caterer, and students should seek out many of these classes during their education.

Certification in catering is available and definitely recommended for beginning caterers. As offered by the National Association of Catering Executives, this distinction can go a long way toward helping a caterer establish an excellent reputation. Membership with organizations such as the American Culinary Federation, the International Special Events Society, and Meeting Professionals International is also suggested for caterers of all levels of experience. (BLS)

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Salary Information

Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to precisely determine how much an individual caterer stands to make in a given year. This is because variations in reputation, experience, and education levels, all important determinants in possible pay, are so variable between caterers. This said, some estimates demonstrate that catering managers make around $35,000 annually. Event coordinators take home just under the same amount in a year, while those catering managers who tout additional credentials in sales earn nearly $40,000 per annum. (PayScale)

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Job Outlook

Similarly to salary information, there are no hard predictions that can be made of the future's employment possibilities for caterers. When categorized with other chefs, head cooks, and food preparation and serving supervisors, estimates predict that the industry overall will enjoy a rise in the number of available jobs of six percent, a mild figure. Many caterers double as entrepreneurs and choose to work for themselves, making it impossible to track the demand for their particular work. As always in the catering world, reputation and expertise are everything. Earning an advanced academic degree, boasting numerous jobs relating to food, and gaining certification are all ways of helping to ensure a steady flow of work and interest in one caterer's particular operation. (BLS)

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Related Careers

Many other careers in the culinary arts share much in common with the catering world. Pastry chefs, one type of specialization in the culinary industry, focus on crafting desserts and sweets that end meals in a tasty fashion. Bakers, too, are similar to caterers, in that reputation is of extreme importance, and in that owning one's own business is not at all uncommon. 

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