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Interested in becoming a chef or restaurant manager? If so, there are college scholarships available to you prepare for these fields. Here are two to check out with application deadlines in April, May, and October.

The JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION offers more than 100 scholarships; its scholarship program is administered by Scholarship America. As of 2017, the Foundation had awarded more than $7 million in financial aid to almost 2,000 recipients.

High school seniors and current college students who plan to or who are currently studying the culinary arts, pastry and baking, hotel and restaurant management, food studies (including history, economics, anthropology, sociology), agriculture, sustainability, or food security at a postsecondary educational institution may apply. Scholarships are awarded based on applicants’ grade point average, extracurricular activities including work experience, letters of recommendation, and financial need.

Applicants must submit a completed application (available online) and academic transcripts. Two complete sets of application materials must be sent. Applicants may apply for up to three different scholarships. Some scholarships require the completion of an essay as a requirement for application. Scholarship amounts vary by scholarship. The application deadline is May 15, 2018.

The AMERICAN CULINARY FEDERATION (ACF) EDUCATION FOUNDATION, with the support of the American Academy of Chefs, offers several scholarships to students who plan to pursue college study or a food-related apprenticeship. Applicants must have a GPA of at least 3.0; plan to enroll or be accepted into an accredited, postsecondary program in culinary or pastry arts; and have a career goal of becoming a chef or pastry chef. They will be evaluated on a 100-point scale that incorporates a variety of criteria such as GPA, essay, involvement with the ACF, and letters of reference.

Visit the Academy’s website to download a scholarship application. Scholarship awards range from $1,500 to $2,500. Application deadlines are April 30 and October 31 of each year.

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Looking for more information on college admissions, the best colleges, scholarships, and cool majors? If so, check out College Spotlight, my college planning newsletter. I’m proud of my newsletter, which has been published for more than 20 years. And it’s received many accolades over the years. For example, nationally syndicated columnist Joyce Lain Kennedy (Tribune Media Services) says that “College Spotlight delivers up-to-date reporting on career-related education resources that high school students need to make promising choices.” Click here to view a sample newsletter and learn more about subscribing.

Additionally, check out my book, They Teach That in College!?, to learn more about 101 interesting and cutting-edge majors. Click here to read the Introduction, Table of Contents, and a sample chapter, as well as purchase a copy.

business people group on meeting — It might come as a surprise to some, but many aspiring executives earn bachelor’s degrees in philosophy before heading to business school.

WE’VE ALL HEARD THE JOKES ABOUT PHILOSOPHY MAJORS AND THEIR PERCEIVED LACK OF JOB SKILLS. One example: How do you get a philosophy major off your porch? Answer: Pay for your pizza. While the joke is humorous (unless you’re a philosophy student or professional), the message it conveys is not true. A bachelor’s degree in philosophy provides good preparation for careers in government and politics, activism, business, academia, religion, writing, news and journalism, and arts and entertainment. Many well-known people have degrees in philosophy, including Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn; Tamara Keith, journalist and National Public Radio White House correspondent; Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and presidential candidate; Emmanuel Macron, president of France; Stewart Butterfield, co-founder of Flickr; Lana Del Rey, singer-songwriter; Phil Jackson, former NBA coach; Kazuo Ishiguro, Nobel Prize-winning author; and Jesús López-Cobos, conductor emeritus of the Cincinnati Symphony. To learn more about the benefits of pursuing a degree in philosophy and potential career paths for philosophy majors, I talked with Amy E. Ferrer, the Executive Director of The American Philosophical Association (APA).

Q. What is one thing young people may not know about a career in philosophy?

A. There is no one particular career in philosophy. Whether you want to be a professor, a CEO, an artist, a writer, a politician, or just about anything else, philosophy is great preparation.

Q. What advice would you give to young people who are considering majoring in philosophy, but who worry that a degree in philosophy may not prepare them effectively for the workforce?

A. My advice: don’t worry about that! Philosophy students are very well prepared for the workforce. Philosophy teaches skills that employers value–critical thinking, analysis, effective written and verbal communication, problem-solving, moral and ethical reasoning, and more. And don’t just take my word for it: there have been a number of news articles in recent years pointing out that philosophy and other humanities majors are successful and sought-after in the business and technology sectors, for example. For those planning to go on to graduate school, philosophy is a particularly good major, as philosophy majors consistently outperform nearly all other majors on graduate entrance exams such as the GRE and LSAT.

And the skills philosophy teaches are especially valuable in today’s workforce because they prepare you to adapt to changing circumstances. Many people now have not just one career, but several, over the course of a lifetime, and philosophy gives you the tools you need to excel right out of school and throughout your working life.

Q. What is the job outlook for philosophy majors?

A. Philosophy majors are quite successful. In fact, philosophy ties with mathematics for the highest percentage increase from starting to mid-career salary for degree holders. And because students of philosophy have learned such versatile and valuable skills, they can succeed in any field they pursue.

Contact the American Philosophical Association to learn more about education and careers in philosophy. Additionally, check out the following websites for more information:

A longer version of this interview is available in my career newsletter, the CAM Report. It has been published for more than 40 years, and provides job-search tips and strategies, information on in-demand occupations and employment trends, and much more. Click here to read a sample issue and to learn more about subscribing. Here are just a few comments from our satisfied subscribers:

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Author: anders458

College Scholarships Available for Foodies

A Philosophy Degree Provides Good Preparation for Success in Many Careers