Three tips to choosing the right path

Successfully choosing your career path involves finding the right training to follow on from further or higher education. If you don’t have a good grasp of all the professional fields open to you, however, it can be difficult to select the right path to prepare you for a profession where you can truly flourish.

Trying to decide what kind of training to embark on after school, college or a Bachelor’s degree? Try these three tips to help you choose the right path.

1. Define your professional ambitions

Although the phrase “professional ambitions” may seem impressive when you are still in high school, it is something you need to reflect on. While for some the question of their professional future is straightforward, because they have had a career in mind for a long time (chef, doctor, teacher, etc.), for others the world of work remains hazy.

To gain a clearer vision, it is therefore important to ask yourself a few essential questions before even looking for training courses:

Are you happy to study for a long time?
What experiences do you want to have on a daily basis (working outdoors, traveling, working in a team, becoming an entrepreneur, etc.)?
What knowledge do you want to acquire (cooking, management, business, etc.)?
What is important to you (sense of service, relationships, creativity, etc.)?
…

The online quizzes offered on career orientation sites are a useful tool, do not hesitate to use them. Institut Paul Bocuse Institute offers an to help you identify, among all the professions in the culinary arts and hotel-food service sector, the ones that best match your personality and expectations.

2. Identifying professional sectors based on your priorities

Once you have managed to identify your priorities and expectations, you should start to have a clearer view of the training courses that you can focus on to achieve them.

Example:

If you want to gain management skills without completing long studies and rapidly access the professional world, perhaps a 3-year Bachelor’s qualification would be suitable.

If you want to travel, improve your foreign languages, build relationships with high-profile people, there are professions in the hospitality industry that also meet these criteria such as Guest Relationship Manager, Personal assistant, etc.

If your priority is to train in culinary arts, pastry or the food service industry, your best bet is a specialised school, which will allow you to reach your full potential.

As both a professional school and a management school, Institut Paul Bocuse is able to offer you varied and specific training courses. Catering to the requirements of the high-end sector and with an emphasis on modernity in the world of culinary arts, food service and hospitality, Institut Paul Bocuse offers Bachelor’s degrees approved by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. Our courses allow you to train in the privileged setting of the Château du Vivier and the Roseraie, with celebrated professionals across a range of professions: Michelin-starred chefs, brasserie managers, hotel managers, pastry chefs, event managers, etc.

Do you find it hard to imagine the daily life of one of the professions that you think might be right for you? Why not find out more by doing a discovery placement? Institut Paul Bocuse offers high school students a 5-day placement for an immersive experience during the school holidays.

3. Search for training courses that will allow you to achieve your goals

There are professions suited to all types of aspirations and all profiles. It is essential to find the schools best suited to accompany you and prepare you for your dream job, or that can help you to discover new roles that are perfect for you.

To find your ideal training path, it may be useful to:

Discuss your ambitions with the educational managers of your institution
Consult platforms dedicated to orientation such as Parcoursup
Carry out in-depth research online, reading, for example, blogs from organisations specialising in training or recruitment
Ask questions to those around you
Speak with a guidance counsellor
Go to student fairs in order to discover all the training courses offered in your region
Attend the open days of the institutions that interest you

Institut Paul Bocuse organises open days throughout the year (face-to-face and remote), as well as Question & Answer sessions. Our teams are happy to introduce you to all the courses from Bachelor’s to Master’s at these events, and you will have the opportunity to talk directly with students.

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