I’m a 30yo college grad who spent most of my 8 years in nyc in the food industry. It was comfortable and I liked it. But after being on unemployment during covid and making more than I ever had as a barista, I can’t go back to food. Seeing what that extra $600 a week did for my life and stress has changed me and I want to make that much money all the time.

Does anyone else have experience transitioning from the food industry to an office job at an older age?

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I am a 30 year old former cook now working at an office job. I don't have an MBA. When entering the corporate space I "settled" for an entry level customer service job. While the prospect might not seem thrilling, like most things its what you make of it. By my second year I knew so much about the product I was frequently tapped for cross-team collaborative projects. And now work frequently with Sales and Product Development.

People might turn their nose up at customer service. But those experiences have put me in a much better place to grow my career. Coming in at an entry level job isn't inheritently a bad thing, in fact it opens you up to A LOT of industry knowledge. With a good manager and drive to take on projects and skills, you can go in many different directions.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend diving into loans from higher education on a cook's/barista's salary. Get into an entry-level position at a people-first company that encourages growth and career development. There's a lot out there. Learn what you like, make friends and obtain mentors on other teams. Then consider pursuing higher education.

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thank you! i’m glad to hear from a former food person. i’ll definitely be doing an entry level job, which is fine! customer service might be a good idea because i have a lot of experience with that already. i love to learn, but i found I’m not that good at it in a school setting. so what you described sounds like a good step for me. thanks for your reply!

I’ve seen it done before and without an MBA. You’d have to be comfortable taking lower paying entry level roles, but most 30-something’s I’ve seen that try it rise much quicker than the recent college grads. Perhaps try an industry that welcomes creativity and diverse backgrounds like advertising

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i’m definitely ok with entry level! thanks for your reply, makes me feel better to know there are other people like me out there

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Agree with this. No reason to go and take on more debt to get a exec mba just to get to into a corporate job. There are so many entry level jobs that require a college education that you can grow into.

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I’m feeling really hopeless and out of touch!

Go get a recognised exec MBA ( you’ll have some $$ loans but the job prospects will significantly improve )

thanks for the advice! more school/loans is probably not the path for me. i’ve been taking tons of free online classes for fun, but i truly hated college

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