My white-chocolate pumpkin cheesecake recipe is ready to be whipped out and put the sweet finishing note on holiday diners. That’s what I’ve been talking about in conversations with my family and friends since the Halloween costumes were put away –  Thanksgiving potlucks and holiday dinners and parties.

One of my 30-something friends would love to become a personal chef, and she displays a natural talent in the kitchen, creating the most difficult Martha-esque recipes quickly, while mine are disasters. So it’s amazing to learn about the types of culinary training available for her and others pursuing that goal in the growing field.

Look at the backgrounds of celebrity chefs and restaurant owners in major cities competing on popular shows such as “Top Chef,” and you’ll find an array of education experience.

One of my “Top Chef: Las Vegas” favorites, restaurateur Kevin Gillespie of Atlanta, cooked part-time at eateries while attending the Art Institute of Atlanta.

The stars of Food Network also demonstrate different paths to a culinary career. Bobby Flay attended the French Culinary Institute while Giada De Laurentis earned a degree in anthropology from the University of California in Los Angeles before focusing on food and training at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, as did Sandra Lee.

The entertaining Guy Fieri route’s was a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, then working in and owning restaurants before being named “The Next Food Network Star” a while back. Iron Chefs Cat Cora and Michael Symon are graduates of The Culinary Institute of America.

You could leave those schools with associate and bachelor’s degrees as well as the in-depth instruction and hands-on experience that will propel you to succeed in your next kitchen, whether it’s in the glare of the TV cameras or delighting small groups of diners every night.

-Lori Johnston

I love reading articles about college major trends because that’s a good way to gauge which career fields are up-and-coming and eager to hire. Lucky for us, writers at The Chronicle of Higher Education did some legwork in yesterday’s story, “5 College Majors on the Rise.”

Not surprisingly, all of the majors they list have something to do with making ourselves and/or the environment a little healthier, and finding new ways to solve problems. In fact, each field can be classified as “higher” education in some way, since they each have a higher purpose than just simply memorizing facts, performing calculations, or appreciating some type of art.

Take a look…

Sustainability — A few weeks ago, I actually had to look this up — no joke! That’s how new an idea this is when it comes to education and business. If you’re wondering what it is (which is nothing to be ashamed of), I’ll tell you. It’s the concept of making something more “green” or ecofriendly. Many businesses today are sustainable businesses. So college students, be sure to at least take a class on this because it’s the hottest buzzword in the workplace today!

Service Science — This is another buzzword that may not be what you think it is. The article describes it as cultivating “‘deep problem solvers’ who understand the economic, human, and technical dimensions of complex systems.” Yikes! That’s a mouthful, isn’t it? The idea is to improve productivity and encourage innovation in various service industries. In other words, these grads will help find more efficient ways of doing things. That sure is a good skill set to have.

Health informatics — The idea is to take each person’s tons of health data and digitalize it. The Feds are totally behind this initiative, and so a new field has emerged that will demand lots of technological know-how with a health care twist.

Computational science — Math meet science. Science meet math. Together, you’ll solve problems. At least that’s the gist of what computational science is all about. I’m not a techie or a number cruncher so it’s a bit beyond me, honestly, but the article says this: “Companies have used computational analysis to increase the absorbency of disposable diapers and to tweak the shape of potato chips so they drop into packages rather than fly off the conveyor belt.” OK then, moving on…

Public health - If the swine flu epidemic has taught us anything, it’s that public health is an expansive field. Students who merge the biology stuff with the public policy stuff will be huge commodities in our society.

Intrigued by any of these up-and-coming fields? They are definitely worth paying attention to for anyone interested in entering a viable industry. One day, they may even be as commonplace as English literature or psychology, so get studying!

-Dawn Papandrea

Wondering what to study in order to make the most money? The numbers don’t lie — math skills add up to higher salaries. So reports Yahoo! Finance:

The top 15 highest-earning college degrees all have one thing in common — math skills. That’s according to a recent survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which tracks college graduates’ job offers.

“Math is at the crux of who gets paid,” said Ed Koc, director of research at NACE. “If you have those skills, you are an extremely valuable asset. We don’t generate enough people like that in this country.”

That’s not to say that you have to become a “mathematician” per se to earn big bucks. It’s just that top earning fields require a certain comfort with formulas, statistics, and number-crunching. They include professions in engineering and computer science. If you think about it, it’s really a lesson in economics (another math-inspired subject): Less people are good in math, therefore they are more in demand. And the more in demand your skills are, the higher you’ll be paid.

So where does that leave the rest of the population, who major in liberal arts, communications, or social sciences? Earning a lot less to start, that’s for sure. But take heart: “Soft skills” can be lucrative, too, if you know how to market them. Being able to communicate, write, speak more than one language, or manage projects are skills that are in demand, too. They are just harder to quantify or put a value on, so you often have to prove yourself (AKA pay your dues) before you rise to the top.

Whichever educational route you take, the formula really is simple (even for former English majors like myself!): Enter your career with sharp skills and a realistic expectation of earnings, and you’re sure to calculate career happiness.

-Dawn Papandrea

These days it seems that all people are talking about are lay-offs and reduced hiring rates — so much so that they ignore an important factor in every industry: the retirement rate. While many professions may reduce the amount by which they hire on a yearly basis, the truth is that a fresh crop of employees is always necessary in order to takeover the jobs of workers who have reached retirement age.

It’s an economic factor that is sometimes overlooked, but many in the media are taking notice in light of a new report on the education industry. According to the report by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, a nonprofit research advocacy group, a third of the country’s 3.2 million teachers may be retiring during the course of the next four years.

Unfortunately, there’s another problem that adds to this anticipated teaching shortage: the high attrition rate that occurs amongst newly hired teachers. Research has shown that a third of all new teachers choose to leave the teaching world within five years of being hired. Combined this with the cushy retirement plans that many teachers enjoy and you get a high turnover rate.

There is, however, hope for the education industry in the form of a new generation of college graduates eager to get into the teaching game and reap the perks that the profession’s hours, work demands, job security, and health benefits offer. Of course, as with any other career, you should only consider it if it coincides with your passions and goals in life – otherwise, you’ll be amongst that one third of new teachers.

*The original NYTimes article for more stats and info on the matter.

– Genevieve M. Blaber

Why major in finance or philosophy when you can choose one of these off-the-beaten-path undergraduate degree programs? They may sound wacky, but they’re worth a second look.

1 – Bagpiping

Yes, you can actually earn a bachelor of fine arts degree in bagpiping from the Carnegie Mellon School of Music (Pittsburgh, PA). The undergraduate curriculum is composed of studio time, theory, history, ensemble work, and general studies courses and electives. I suppose if I were hiring a bagpiper, I would want one with impressive credentials like these.

2 – Bakery science and management

I didn’t know baking was a science – then again, my version of baking is dumping brownie mix into a pan. At Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS), bakery science degree students can focus on production management (a business-oriented approach) or cereal chemistry (quality control or research and development).

3 – Costume technology

This is the next step after costume design. In the bachelor of fine arts degree program in costume technology at DePaul University’s Theatre School (Chicago, IL), students learn to translate designs into the actual garments actors wear. Costume technology students become theatrical craftsmen, drapers, cutters, and costume shop managers.

4 – Egyptology

If you’re into hieroglyphics and ancient history, you can major in Egyptology at Brown University (Providence, RI). Courses cover the spectrum of Egyptian language and literature, Egyptian civilization, and Egyptian history. I’d be interested to find out how hiring managers view this degree.

5 – Entertainment engineering and design

Consider this the science of the entertainment industry. At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, students can focus on such specific areas of the entertainment industry as advanced visualization techniques, automation and motion controls, biomechanics and animatronics, entertainment venue design, and structural design and rigging.

6 – Family business

Students at Stetson University (Deland, FL) can earn a bachelor of business administration degree with a major in family business. Topics include family business dynamics; communications techniques; and strategic, estate, and succession planning. Upon graduation, students should have at least two job offers – beyond their family business.

7 – Floral management

Aspiring florists can earn a floral management degree from Mississippi State University. Floral management involves sourcing, purchasing, distributing, marketing, designing with, and selling floricultural products. Career opportunities for graduates include retailing, wholesaling, special event designing, and display gardening.

8 – Turfgrass science

I know turf management is everywhere, but it still sounds funny to me. A bachelor’s degree program in turfgrass science is even available online via Penn State World Campus. Turfgrass science covers pesticides, weed control, morphology, entomology, pathology, edaphology, and cultural systems, as well as business management and communication.

Post a comment if you know of any other wacky majors!

– Robyn Tellefsen

We can’t all be athletes. Even if we have the opportunity to learn, we may not have the athletic ability to make the lessons stick. Judging by the hours of backyard wiffleball I played with my dad, for example, I should have been the shining star of Little League. Unfortunately, hand-eye coordination is a prerequisite for success in baseball (and most other sports involving a ball, for that matter), which kept me squarely out of the game. Like I said, we can’t all be athletes. (I later found my niche in swimming, so don’t feel too sorry for me.)

I’ve already written about some behind-the-scenes sports careers for lovers of the game. But there are other, lesser-known niches available for those who, like me, won’t be picking up a bat and ball anytime soon. Give these careers a test run:

Sport psychologist
Yes, sport psychology is a real science. Sport psychologists help athletes use psychological principles to achieve optimal mental health and improve performance, and they also help clients understand how physical activity affects psychological development, health, and well-being throughout life.

Sport psychologists typically have a doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology, with a significant proportion of coursework in sport psychology and related sport sciences. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), median annual earnings of clinical and counseling psychologists were $62,210 in May 2007.

Sports statistician
All those sports stats you’ve got memorized had to come from someone’s calculations. That’s the main job of sports statisticians – to collect and validate data from games. They may also be responsible for identifying newsworthy items of statistical interest for exploratory data analysis.

A bachelor’s degree in statistics, computer science, or math is helpful, but not necessarily required for entry into the field. Unfortunately, most careers in sports statistics are limited to part-time work, according to the American Statistical Association, and generally pay $50 to $100 per game. The best way to get your start is to volunteer your services to a local school team.

Sports lawyer
Sports law doesn’t always involve a scandal. Sports lawyers specialize in issues of antitrust, federal disability discrimination, intellectual property, and labor laws for amateur and professional sports. They often spend a good deal of time in business planning and contract negotiation.

Most lawyers need a bachelor’s degree, a law degree, and a passing score on the bar exam in order to practice, and sports lawyers are no exception. According to the BLS, in May 2007, median annual earnings of lawyers were $106,120.

If you want to keep your hand in the game (and off the field!), play to your strengths – stick to a sport-themed career.

One of my friends from high school just came back home from her semester at school. Unlike most of my friends, she didn’t graduate this semester. Now, this isn’t because she just couldn’t cut it – she’s actually super busy in a six-year intensive pharmacy program. When she graduates officially in two years, she’ll have her doctor of pharmacy and will be able to go out into the world as a pharmacist.

A lot of us go into school, not knowing what we want to do. And even if we have an idea, it’s very likely that that will change throughout our four years at school. My friend basically had to know that she wanted to do this when she was 17 years old, when she applied for the program. She was admitted and has kept up with it ever since. I really admire her for sticking to her guns! She’s always very busy with schoolwork and it’s all pretty interesting. Let’s examine the career…

Pharmacists don’t just fill prescriptions, you know. They must have a working knowledge of all the drugs out on the market, while being the go-to person for healthcare information. What kinds of drugs interact negatively with each other? Which prescriptions should people not take because of allergies? This profession carries a large responsibility in handling the lives of many people and, as a result, it’s very important to pay attention to detail. One wrong move, and it can cost someone their life. But that likely won’t happen since pharmacists have much experience and training.

Since the end of high school, my friend has worked at CVS in the pharmacy as an intern to get hands-on experience. A pharmacy isn’t the only place pharmacists work, however. They can also do research at pharmaceutical companies and work in hospitals. Throughout school they take basic science classes, including biology and chemistry. As the years go on, students take more specialized pharmaceutical classes, with professors who are specialists in each topic. My friend’s last year will be spent doing various rotations at different locations. Here, she will get very specialized experience that will prepare her for a career in pharmacy.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), pharmacists held about 230,000 jobs in 2004 and the number continues to grow. It estimates that a career in pharmacy will grow faster than the average career by 2014. The median wage in May 2004 was $84,900, as reported by the BLS.

Looks like a good career to get into, especially if you like the medical field but don’t want to go as far as getting your M.D. If you like helping people you’ll definitely like a career in pharmacy, as you deal constantly with others and helping them with their prescriptions (depending on your place of employment, of course). I had coffee with my friend the other night and she’s definitely dedicated to her profession. She’ll spend her summer interning and reading up on all the drugs so that she can get a good handle on them and what they do, she told me. She’s moving along on the path to a successful career in pharmacy.

Click here for a different take on pharmacy: View Health Care From All Angles Through Pharmacy Technician Schools

-Amanda Fornecker

There are so many job titles out there. How can you possibly know which one is right for you? And there is a ton of information about these jobs too, but it seems that only the common ones, like doctor, lawyer, and teacher, are well known. What about those other jobs? There are lots of cool jobs out there (and variations on the common ones) – and books to tell you all about them. Take a look at two professions, outlined by these authors…

The Musical Engineer, A Music Enthusiast’s Guide to Careers in Engineering and Technology (Engineering Education Service Center, 2007), by Celeste Baine
If you have a knack for music and desire some different kind of career, consider being a musical engineer. You’ll combine your love of music, engineering, and technology.

“If you love music, like to work on computers, are fascinated by electronics and mechanics, or have a love for gadgets, combining music with engineering or technology may be the hot ticket for you. Not only can it lead to a successful career contributing to the newest releases on the charts, but it can also lead to success creating instruments or changing the way we listen to music,” says Baine in her book.

How cool is that?!? There are so many possibilities in the music and engineering fields. Did you know that there are engineers who design ring tones too? Hey, somebody’s gotta do it. Check out the engineering, technological, and musical possibilities.

The Upstart Guide to Owning and Managing a Restaurant (2nd ed., Kaplan Publishing, 2007), by Roy S. Alonzo
So you love to cook, but never thought of making a career out of it. But you’re an entrepreneur and know all about businesses. Or maybe you’ve gone to culinary school, but you’re tired of working for other people and want to be your own boss. Why not start your own restaurant?

In this book, Alonzo discusses how to get the restaurant of your dreams, and all that’s required to successfully run the business. Should you buy an existing restaurant or start one from scratch? What should the ambience of the restaurant be like? These are questions Alonzo answers in the second edition of his book, where he aims to keep up with the technology of a changing business world.

Says Alonzo in the first chapter of his book: “Most people prefer the stability of a nine-to-five job with a steady paycheck, and there is a great deal to be said for that. But if you enjoy seeing your creation grow and thrive on challenges, in spite of unusual demands, the restaurant business may be an exhilarating and profitable experience for you.”

-Amanda Fornecker

Want to make some noise at next year’s GRAMMY awards? You can with a career in audio engineering, says a brand new article at CollegeSurfing.com.

Learn more about how to make (sound) waves in this tech-driven profession that’s expected to see lots of job growth in the coming decade. If you love the music biz, but have an American Idol-reject type singing voice, a behind-the-scenes audio engineering career may be the big break you’re looking for.

Thanks for listening (sorry — couldn’t resist!).

Photo: Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times