Working as a baker or pastry chef is one of the most creative and immediately rewarding careers out there. Most of these professionals, also known as Chefs de Patisserie, start work hours before sunrise with a pile of ingredients like flour, eggs, yeast and sugar (and cardamom, if they’re smart). By mid-morning, the ingredients transform into beautiful and delicious delights in the oven. The next step is serving customers. If you’ve done your job well, it will be validated right away in the form of smiling faces and clinking forks. The job can also bring personal indulgence and satisfaction, as every cook must taste his or her creations.

Even the best work environment for bakers and pastry chefs can be hot and crowded. However, early morning hours offer solace from the hustle and bustle of restaurant life. The job involves a lot of lifting and a lot of time spent on your feet, making vigor and fitness absolutely necessary.

Many students of the dessert arts enroll in baking and pastry schools to learn things like practical skills, chemistry and management skills. Others begin working and become educated through experience. The latter make up the majority of bakers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Services (BLS.) Nevertheless, we recommend that people seeking careers in the baking industry acquire at least an associate’s degree, which will provide well-roundedness and will enable them to move quickly up the dessert ladder.

In addition to cooking classes at community and traditional colleges, many pastry chef schools and French pastry schools are available. Much of the coursework in this discipline involves practicing in a kitchen lab, but students should also be prepared to read textbooks and attend lectures on nutrition, biology and sanitary practices. Some of the academic classes can be found online.  The best schools are accredited by the American Culinary Federation and will probably get you in the door for an interview at top restaurants. However, a culinary arts degree won’t guarantee a position. Other schools work closely with Le Cordon Bleu, which teaches French gourmet cooking. These programs are available in big cities worldwide.

While attending chef school, we recommend working in a foodservice job to gain experience. Many chefs spend about a year in chef school programs, but upon graduating they find that they are not cut out for the work. These people last only a few years in the business. That is bad news for all the unfit chefs of the world, but good news for newcomers to the job market. High turnover is likely to keep job opportunities available in the baking industry over the next decade, according to the BLS. Some bakers also work from their homes to create treats for weddings and parties. This work may be ideal for you if you have young children or want to balance other freelancing opportunities.

To make sure you don’t become a French cuisine casualty, consider whether your personal qualities and talents match the job. You will need creativity and attention to detail in following exact directions, but customer service skills are also necessary. It is also wise to recognize that many workers in the cooking industry are plagued by foul language, substance abuse, no paid vacation or health insurance and achingly tired feet. You should be aware that many immigrants work in the industry, so learning a second language such as Spanish or Chinese may be necessary for communicating with employees.

If you find that making perfectly textured breads and sweet puddings, cakes, chocolate and powdered beignets is right for you, get an education to become a chef, and you will get to create new sweets and breads daily. You will almost never work at a desk and will get to participate in the hectic but high-energy environment of a professional kitchen.