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So I'm a literature student, and my goal is to be a high school teacher. I like teaching people and making a difference, as well as really loving good literature. I wanted to go into high school education so as to be able to discuss/teach higher level concepts than the most basic and superficial aspects of a novel. The problem I have had is that I've been told by a LOT of people that unless you want to move to a very small amount of places, the supply of teachers far outstrips the demand and you really have fuckall chance of getting a full time position and you're probably going to end up doing a lot of substituting unless you're very lucky.
So, when considering what possible avenues I have for my career asparations, I've considered culinary arts. I've worked full time in one type of kitchen or other since before I graduated high school to help out my family and later to help support myself through school. While I have spent most of my time preparing Deep Fried Fare and general bar food, I do very well under pressure and can communicate/lead my team, and I have no problem putting in my time and working hard. Given sufficient training/knowledge, I believe I would do good in professional kitchen and I believe one day being the head chef of a resturant would be a great experience.
So, I've done some googling and from what I read, I am encouraged. Most sources agree as a chef you may not really be payed spectacularly, but enough to make a comfortable living and given hard work you can work your way up into better positions. So I'm here to ask a few questions to anyone who might have insight into training in culinary arts. You can learn a bit from google, but I value hearing real people with real experience be real about things rather than some canned bullshit 
1) So from what I understand most people either get to their stations by starting under a chef and being trained in something of an apprenticeship manner, or going to school to get their training. What are the pros and cons to both, and which is generally seen as the better way to go (also, if apprenticeship is seen as favorable, how do you go about searching for tutelage, and if school is preferable, how do you go about choosing your school)?
2) THe price of a college education nowadays is getting to be extravagant. Having already started college, what kind of costs are generally required to get whatever education/training needed to be a chef?
3) How long does training usually last before you can start in your new career?
4) Any other little chunks of knowledge I should know before I start down this path?
Thanks for any help provided, I really appreciate people sharing their experiences to help someone making a tough decision. Peace
 
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Read or download the audio book Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.
It's a outdated by 4 years or so, and a little sensationalist but it will answer many questions for you and is a good read overall.
If your goal is to become a sous-chef or high level cook [ which is more realistic than aiming to be a chef to start out with ] its invaluable. It's also just a very good book.
The two routes you described is correct, but nowadays most places won't take you under a chef's wing like they did in the 80s and early 90s. You must go to a school like CIA or Le Cordon Bleu or similar. The better way as stated by Joel Robuchon is to learn technique first. He's chef of the century so he might know what he's talking about.
Having already started college is probably the least ideal since culinary school takes time and money as well.
Seriously tho read Kitchen Confidential.
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You could go straight into a restaurant, but you'd start probably as a busboy or something and have to work your way up to the kitchen. The most optimal route is through culinary school. Depending on where you live that could be either very expensive or very reasonable. As you're in the US it's most likely going to be ridiculously expensive.
You need to buy really really good knives if you want to make a career out of food. And that should cost you upwards of several hundred dollars. If you're working in your own kitchen you're going to need to stock it full of all the utensils, pots, pans, etc, that you'll need to work which will set you back even more than the knives. If you're in school though that should all be part of the cost of tuition and they would have kitchens you could use.
All this stuff is completely secondary to the most prominent requirement to going into the food industry and that is you have to love the shit out of making food. If you don't you're going to hate your life. Being a chef is incredibly demanding. You need to spend hours prepping and once service starts you will not be getting a break until service ends. Everything is on a clock and the pressure is extremely high. The hours are not in anyway normal working hours so your sleep schedule and your free time are going to be different from everyone else. Every mistake is put under the microscope as each one comes with an angry customer. And there's very little job security unless you land a job at a great restaurant and are able to keep up the quality of your food. If you think you can handle all that, go for it.
For most people food is better left as a hobby. Once it becomes a job it loses a lot of its luster.
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As a counterpoint to the knife discussion, apparently the knives that get the most use in professional kitchens are not the super expensive ones, mostly because they're costly to replace if they get tipped, or you or someone abuse them, or someone else in the kitchen runs off with them (because most kitchens will require you to BYO knives). You should also only need two or three - 8/10" chef's knife, paring knife and maybe a serrated knife. There are a lot of comprehensive guides on good value professional knives online - I can point you to a few if need.
In my anecdotal experience, in terms of actually getting a job in the food industry, most chefs vastly value experience over qualifications, so if you find yourself in the position of having to choose between going to culinary school and getting an entry-level job in a kitchen, think strongly about the latter. If you do choose to go to school, you'll want one with solid, demonstrated industry connections - preferably placements - because that will be your most concrete route to employment upon graduation.
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What's the difference between a cook and a chef?
+ Show Spoiler +
Seriously, if you're thinking about doing it, go work in a kitchen similar to where you imagine you'd like to end up working. Work there for 6 months and report back. Who knows? You might love it. You might also hate it, though. Get out there, work, and talk to some chefs about it. They'll tell you what's up.
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From what I understand from the two or three chefs I know: long hours, you occassionally get burned or cut because you're probably sleep deprived, the pay is mediocre unless you really get lucky. But they all love it.
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Yeah, I work in a kitchen, I know the hours are shit, but I'm ok with that. I appreciate an honest day's work and I really do like preparing food. I've cut/burned myself more times than 5 people should at this point.
If I wanted to work in a better kitchen, how do I go about doing that? I imagine my time in a pub kitchen wont really count that much toward experience, so how do you get your foot in the door, and how do you know which door to try to get your foot in for that matter? There's so many different styles of cuisine that I love, from Korean, Sushi, Indian, to the more contemporary European, I love all kinds of food, how do I know what type of resturant I want to work at and how to get started?
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Just an aside, I'm glad you were able to recognize that you were going to have trouble finding a job as a high school teacher and made the (tough) decision to switch to something like this.
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Be a personal chef. Go to a community college. You can cook a couple weeks worth of food for a person in one day and BANK. I may end up pursuing this.
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EPT
