Most college students would agree that the pressure to secure a prestigious, well-paying job or internship for the summer is immense. After all, your future career could hang in the balance. However, the solution to your internship quest could be less traditional than you might think.
The alternative to working in a stark cubicle? Working at a job that allows you to roll dough, stir pie fillings, create Cake Boss worthy cakes, and brighten customers’ days with warm, oven-fresh cookies.
Here are 5 compelling reasons to choose a bakery job over that internship:
Free Food
Photo by Vedika Luthra
Easily the best benefit of working at a bakery. As college students, we know the importance of rationing money for that late-night pizza run, and a bakery provides endless opportunities for free grub. A daily investigation of the “trash tray” aka where the broken cookies, melted brownies, and day-old muffins live, is typically accompanied by a mental singing of the Hallelujah chorus and a happy wallet.
Happy Friends
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One might argue that supplying friends with leftover desserts is the equivalent of bribery but instead consider it a way to show your friends how much you appreciate their continued tolerance of your Top Chef marathons. While they are tucked away in the back corner of an office somewhere, you’re getting paid to decorate cookies so why not spread the love? If that coincidentally translates to them hanging out with you more than usual, then that’s just a plus.
Networking
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A necessity to succeeding in the real world, networking is a breeze when you work at a bakery. Rather than discuss details of that tedious policy meeting, you can regale new contacts with the time you forgot to turn the mixer off before adding powdered sugar to the cream cheese frosting and spent the next hour looking like a friendly, sugary abominable snowman. Also, your access to free food instantly increases your professional marketability.
Work Attire
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Who really has the time to understand the small nuances between business casual and working professional?
Working at a bakery solves this problem by reducing your daily uniform to four key items: White shirt, jeans, sneakers, and an apron. Plus, shorts are usually acceptable, and one can never go wrong with shorts at work.
Baking Skills
Photo courtesy of paradoxpastrycafe.com
You will emerge from your summer a skilled baker with numerous recipes and kitchen hacks under your belt. Your ability to whip up a delicious meal using only a dorm-sized fridge will impress everyone you know and ensure your ability to eat something other than Ramen after graduation.