High school students who are considering career options should consider a career as a baker. A baker can work in any field, including cakes, cookies and pies, or they can work with dough types such as pretzels, bagels and pizzas. All bakers make baked goods, but those who specialize or focus on a single product may have easier access to employment or better profit margins.
If you’re considering becoming a baker, there are a few factors that can help you determine how much you could earn as a beginning baker. The first factor is the area in which you live. The cost of living in a particular city also plays a role in determining your salary; more expensive cities will generally come with higher salaries for bakers.
What is the starting salary for a baker? Though bakers are primarily responsible for making pastries and breads, the typical salary of different types of bakers varies widely. How much you earn as a baker depends on your experience level and type of bakery you work for. This article also examines baker salary per hour, average salary of a bakery owner.
Starting Salary For A Baker
The average salary of a baker is $33,000 annually, but depending on where you live, that number can be much higher. The highest-paid bakers live in Washington DC and New York City, where they earn $42,000 per year. On the other hand, bakers in Detroit only earn $21,000 per year.
Baker salaries are typically based on experience level and how much responsibility you have within the company. For example, if you’re working in an office setting with no baking experience at all but have a lot of office experience and are willing to learn how to bake cakes—you might make more than someone who has been baking for years but does not have any other skills outside the kitchen.
Other factors that affect your salary include whether or not you own your own business; if so then this will impact what your take home pay will be at the end of each month because there are many expenses associated with owning your own business such as rent/mortgage payments or insurance costs which means less money left over after expenses have been paid out each month which means a lower salary overall when compared against someone who works for someone else rather than owns their own business
What Bakers Do
Bakers mix ingredients according to recipes in order to make breads, pastries, and other baked goods.
Duties of Bakers
Bakers typically do the following:
- Check the quality of baking ingredients
- Prepare equipment for baking
- Measure and weigh flour and other ingredients
- Combine measured ingredients in mixers or blenders
- Knead, roll, cut, and shape dough
- Place dough into pans, into molds, or onto baking sheets
- Set oven temperatures and place items into ovens or onto grills
Bakers produce various types and quantities of breads, pastries, and other baked goods sold by grocers, wholesalers, restaurants, and institutional food services.
The following are examples of types of bakers:
Commercial bakers, also called production bakers, work in manufacturing facilities that produce breads, pastries, and other baked products. In these facilities, bakers use high-volume mixing machines, ovens, and other equipment, which may be automated, to mass-produce standardized baked goods. They carefully follow instructions for production schedules and recipes.
Retail bakers work primarily in grocery stores and specialty shops, including bakeries. In these settings, they produce smaller quantities of baked goods for people to eat in the shop or for sale as specialty baked goods. Retail bakers may take orders from customers, prepare baked products to order, and occasionally serve customers. Although the quantities prepared and sold in these stores are often small, they usually come in a wide variety of flavors and sizes. Most retail bakers are also responsible for cleaning their work area and equipment and unloading supplies.
Some retail bakers own bakery shops where they make and sell breads, pastries, pies, and other baked goods. In addition to preparing the baked goods and overseeing the entire baking process, they are also responsible for hiring, training, and supervising their staff. They must budget for and order supplies, set prices, and decide how much to produce each
How to Become a Baker
Long-term on-the-job training is the most common path to gain the skills necessary to become a baker. Some bakers start their careers through an apprenticeship program or by attending a technical or culinary school. No formal education is required.
Education for Bakers
Although there are no formal education requirements to become a baker, some candidates attend a technical or culinary school. Programs generally last from 1 to 2 years and cover nutrition, food safety, and basic math. To enter these programs, candidates may be required to have a high school diploma or equivalent.
Training for Bakers
Most bakers learn their skills through long-term on-the-job training, typically lasting 1 to 3 years. Some employers may provide apprenticeship programs for aspiring bakers. Bakers in specialty bakery shops and grocery stores often start as apprentices or trainees and learn the basics of baking, icing, and decorating. They usually study topics such as nutrition, sanitation procedures, and basic baking. Some participate in correspondence study and may work toward a certificate in baking.
Other Experience for Bakers
Some bakers learn their skills through work experience related to baking. For example, they may start as a baker’s assistant and progress into a full-fledged baker as they learn baking techniques.
Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations for Bakers
Certification is voluntary and shows that a baker has the skills and knowledge to work at a retail baking establishment.
The Retail Bakers of America offers certification in four levels of competence, with a focus on several topics, including baking sanitation, management, retail sales, and staff training. Those who wish to become certified must satisfy a combination of education and experience requirements before taking an exam.
The education and experience requirements vary by the level of certification desired. For example, a Certified Journey Baker requires no education but must have at least 1 year of work experience. A Certified Baker must have 4 years of work experience and 30 hours of sanitation coursework, and a Certified Master Baker must have 8 years of work experience, 30 hours of sanitation coursework, and 30 hours of professional development education.
Important Qualities for Bakers
Communication skills. Bakers, especially retail bakers, must have good communication skills in order to deal effectively with customers.
Detail oriented. Bakers must closely monitor their products in the oven to keep them from burning. They also should have an eye for detail because many pastries and cakes require intricate decorations.
Math skills. Bakers must possess basic math skills, especially knowledge of fractions, in order to precisely mix recipes, weigh ingredients, or adjust mixes.
Physical stamina. Bakers stand on their feet for extended periods while they prepare dough, monitor baking, or package baked goods.
Physical strength. Bakers should be able to lift and carry heavy bags of flour and other ingredients, which may weigh up to 50 pounds.
Baker Salaries
The median annual wage for bakers is $29,750. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $22,820, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $45,450.
The median annual wages for bakers in the top industries in which they work are as follows:
| Food and beverage stores | $29,900 |
| Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing | $29,690 |
| Restaurants and other eating places | $29,110 |
Some bakers work part time.
Grocery stores and restaurants, sell freshly baked goods throughout the day. As a result, bakers are often scheduled to work shifts during early mornings, late evenings, weekends, and holidays.
Bakers who work in commercial bakeries that bake continuously may have to work late evenings and weekends.
baker salary per hour
Average Hourly (Median) Wages for Bakers in Canada
| Location | Low Wage $ per hr | Average Wage $ per hr | High Wage $ per hr | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary – Alberta* | 16.00 | 16.00 | 24.00 | 2019 |
| Edmonton – Alberta* | 15.00 | 16.00 | 24.65 | 2019 |
| Vancouver / Lower Mainland – British Columbia | 13.85 | 14.00 | 26.44 | 2018 |
| Winnipeg – Manitoba | 11.65 | 13.00 | 21.00 | 2018 |
| Fredericton / Oromocto – New Brunswick | 11.50 | 12.25 | 14.30 | 2018 |
| Halifax – Nova Scotia | 11.55 | 12.50 | 18.50 | 2018 |
| Toronto – Ontario | 14.00 | 14.00 | 15.00 | 2018 |
| Ottawa – Ontario | 14.00 | 14.00 | 17.50 | 2018 |
| Hamilton / Niagara Peninsula – Ontario | 14.00 | 14.00 | 20.30 | 2018 |
| Kitchener / Waterloo / Barrie – Ontario | 14.00 | 14.15 | 18.50 | 2018 |
| Prince Edward Island | 12.25 | 13.00 | 18.26 | 2018 |
| Montreal – Quebec | 12.50 | 14.00 | 18.00 | 2018 |
| Saskatoon / Biggar – Saskatchewan | 12.00 | 14.00 | 20.55 | 2018 |
average salary of a bakery owner
As of Oct 26, 2022, the average annual pay for a Bakery Owner in the United States is $71,170 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $34.22 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,368/week or $5,930/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $248,000 and as low as $17,000, the majority of Bakery Owner salaries currently range between $28,000 (25th percentile) to $87,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $151,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Bakery Owner varies greatly (by as much as $59,000), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
Based on recent job posting activity on ZipRecruiter, the Bakery Owner job market in both Lagos, NG and throughout the entire state of is not very active as few companies are currently hiring. A Bakery Owner in your area makes on average $71,258 per year, or $88 (0%) more than the national average annual salary of $71,170. ranks number 1 out of 50 states nationwide for Bakery Owner salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Bakery Owner jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
