Baker: If You Like to Sleep In, Don't Become a Baker

Introduction
Being a baker has its up and downsides. If you love to bake, then it's the career for you, the downsides will seem insignificant because you are doing what you love. If you don't love to bake, if you just need a job and you like that bakery smell, then I would try and deter you from it...you won't like it.

Job Function
At four in the morning I have to show up. The next three hours comprise most of the work, as I have to make muffins, cookies, cakes, breads, croissants, etc. for opening time. After that I mostly just hang about. Some places will make the baker also act as the cashier (most places, actually), but I was lucky enough to find a bakery that does not require this of me. The rest of my day is spent waiting for some issue to arise, like a sudden run on pumpernickel loaves, and remedying the situation by baking more of what we need. Advertisement
Lifestyle
The biggest problem with being a baker is the hours. You have to wake up ridiculously early; you get out of work early, too, but this hardly makes up for it, since you become something of a social outcast. A couple of days ago a buddy of mine called me up:
"Yo, we're going to the titty-bar. Come along, man, I'm buying the drinks."
"I got to work in the morning."
"We all got to work in the morning."
"Yeah, but I got to work at four in the morning."
"Oh...alright, see ya later."
It was kind of a drag: free drinks at the titty-bar sounded great.

Additional Information
I dig on being a baker, it's a fun job, but it's not for everybody. Consider what I have said here, because I have seen a million people come and go because they couldn't take the hours. If the hours don't bother you, go for it, but be wary that you are giving up night-life.