Many graduate students at the Cecil B. Day School, the hospitality school at Georgia State, are taking on catering as a second occupation.
According to the National Association for Catering and Events (NACE), most people enter the field between the ages of 25 and 34. The number of students earning more than their previous occupation is 66 percent and the students more satisfied than in their previous occupation is 60 percent, according to Bonnie Fedchock, executive director of NACE.
Georgia State and the Hospitality Program
The Cecil B. Day School offers 400 majors and is ranked as the 13th best hospitality program in the U.S. by the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education. The program is offered as a major, a minor and a certificate. There is also a graduate program, which is a one-year program in Global Hospitality Management with 10 courses.
“About 100 students graduate per year and about one fourth go to catering and events,” Dr. Cannon, the director at Georgia State for the Hospitality program of the Robinson College of Business, said.
What is Catering and Events?
Majoring in the field of Hospitality is a thriving business, according to Dr. Cannon. Catering and Events is a career field for college students who want to want to work in anything from planning extravagant parties to managing country clubs. Catering and events specifically is an industry where caterers plan and provide food for events such as parties, weddings and corporate gatherings.
“It’s important to know the terminology, that they understand the processes involved and understand the financial piece because everyone has a budget that they have to analyze,” Dr. Cannon said.
According to Fedchock, salaries range from $20,000 per year or less for entry level workers, and more than $120,000 per year for experienced professionals. Once a person reaches significant levels in their career, he or she can make much more than that and could own a large company.
The catering and events industry is a serious job, but it is also a career that always has something new to give, according to Marlena Collins, Georgia State hospitality major.
“I think people are really drawn to it because it is ever changing. You’re never doing the same thing everyday. It’s not like the typical accounting where you’re crunching numbers, you’re out in real life interacting with customers,” Collins said.
The Hospitality Market in Atlanta
The catering and events industry is thriving in the Atlanta area by bringing in a lot of business, according to Dr. Cannon.
“Our business is very much on the upswing, particularly in Atlanta, because it is a convention city. It’s a city that thrives
on major city wide conventions,” Dr. Cannon said.
Atlanta is a popular city for hosting events, so the city brings in many consumers and revenue for people in the catering and events industry. In the next few years, Atlanta will have new additions to the city. These additions include the College Football Hall of Fame, the Atlanta Streetcar and the new Falcons stadium where a hotel will be built nearby, according to Dr. Cannon.
