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Baking and pastry programs prepare you for a position as a pastry chef or baker, or for some other creative food occupation as well. Those who work with baked goods might handle their own small shops or work in commercial settings, producing large quantities of foods to be sent to grocery stores throughout the country. Pastry chefs can find work both at commercial companies and at restaurants that offer a wide variety of pastries and breads. The work of measuring, mixing, and understanding how ingredients work harmoniously together to create delicious foods is a fine art that bakers and pastry chefs are taught throughout their education, and then hone further with hands-on experience. However, career training doesn't just involve what happens in the kitchen; baking and pastry programs offer education in terms of business concepts, government regulation, nutrition, chemistry, and food sciences as well.

Where a Baking and Pastry Degree Could Lead

A baking and pastry chef can expect to find work in a variety of places, especially as demand for baked goods increases in restaurants and grocery stores. Here are just a few of the jobs you can jump into after your training is over:

• Caterer
• Catering Manager
• Event Planner
• Bakery Shop Owner
• Chocolatier
• Wedding Cake Specialist
• Artisan Bread Baker

The demand for services of those educated in baking and pastry is expected to increase by about 10 percent through 2016, opening up several new positions for qualified applicants. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, those who became baking and pastry chefs made a median income of $23,290 in 2008.