Growing your career in coffee
Coffee can be a great and challenging career path, and moving up in the industry or finding your niche within the industry can be fun and exciting.
Most people start out as baristas where they find a passion for the industry, while its not everyone’s path to discovering their love for the industry anyone is able to find a career in coffee if you’re willing to put in the work and dedication. Coffee can be a rewarding career, if that’s roasting, being a professional barista, manager, shop owner and the many other avenues you can take it is possible.
Career challenges and obstacles
Not the best compensation
As mentioned before, coffee can be rewarding career venture but that’s not without its challenges. One of the largest hurdles most people find when starting a career in coffee is that it usually doesn’t have the best compensation and some might find that hard to live off of for the long run.
Achieving your career goals
Another challenge is achieving your career goals, and what do I mean by this? Well regardless of what career path you want to take in the coffee industry we all start somewhere and it doesn’t always seem that easy to get where we want to go.
For example, one might start out as a barista and then wants to become a coffee shop manager or even owner. how do you go from point A to point B? Mind you this is just an example this could be in another career path you chose in the coffee industry.
Not enough job opportunities
We also might find the challenge that there is not enough job opportunities or none at all in the field you would like to go into. This can be discouraging, but fear not as there are some solutions you can do.
Finds solutions for the common challenges in the coffee industry
Not the best compensation
This is an age old tale in the coffee industry when starting out, especially as a barista. Now whatever path you choose to go into here are a few things to help you in your journey. When growing your career in coffee I recommend exploring all avenues within your niche.
What do I mean by this? Say you are a barista wanting to become a shop owner. In the mean time while learning about the path you want to take. Consider going to latte art throw downs or latte art competitions to win a cash prize. Or maybe reach out to other shops and see if they could use your skillset and possibly pay you in exchange for your knowledge. You’d be surprised at how many options you can do on the side for some extra income.
Regardless of what path you chose, if money is tight you could also consider a second job in the coffee industry, or start your own business as a side hustle that could turn into your full time job.
Lastly I want to remind you, these things take time, energy, and effort. See it as if you are a full time college student who might not have a lot of money but is exchanging that for knowledge and growth. When your are first starting out it can be easy to feel discouraged but don’t give up! Just think of how goof it will feel when you finally land your dream job in the coffee industry!
Achieving your career goals
This is also something that people might have a hard time with especially if you are working in your desired field, but not your desired position. Yours a roaster but you want to be lead roaster, a barista who wants to be a general manager, a general manager who wants to become an owner.
There are a lot of factors that come into place when it comes to achieving your career goals but lets go over a few ways to get there
Be transparent with your company about your goals. When I say this I don’t just mean tell your boss or superior “hey I want to be an xyz” I mean have a sit down conversation and go over where you would like to end up and what steps you can take to get there. If you have a good leader they should be able to help you create a plan to achieve your goals.
Some places you work unfortunately don’t have room for growth, this usually occurs at small businesses’ that don’t have a large team. I would still ask and see if there are any opportunities but if all else fails it might be time to look for a role somewhere else. When doing this be transparent with the next company about your career goals and where you would like to end up.
Most of the time they should be able to tell you that they would love to develop people and sometimes they might not have space. It is always good to ask when searching for a new job because you don’t want to end up back at square one.
Another great option is to attend coffee events like latte art showdowns or local coffee classes to network. One thing I have learned and have been told by many is you never know the next person you’re going to meet and the opportunity it can bring. The one thing that is so exciting about the coffee industry is you’re next opportunity can be right around the corner and you might not even know it.
I would go online and look up coffee events. A great place to look to event finder and asking your local coffee shops if they know of any events coming up. I would also create a LinkedIn so you can grow and expand your network. and if you want to learn more about networking in the coffee community check out my article on Networking in the coffee industry
Not enough job opportunities
Depending on where you live and how populated your city is, you might have a hard time finding job opportunities that align with what you want to do. How do you go about this?
Well to be honest you don’t have many options but lets go over the ones you can do in this situation. Don’t feel discouraged as there are ways for you to achieve your goals.
The first and maybe most obvious solution would be relocating. Now I actually did this and came to a state that has a rapid growth in the coffee sector which has opened a lot of opportunities for me. Now not saying you need to move to different states but if you are living in a rural area with a couple local coffee shops and you want to be a roaster, maybe consider moving where there is a roasting plant that you can work at. Relocation is a big deal but sometimes it might be the only option.
Another option that has come up over the years are remote job opportunities. Now this will not work for a lot of jobs since the coffee industry is usually a very in-person job. With that being said, there is an up-rising with remote opportunities for some areas such as green coffee buyers, social media management for a coffee company, coffee sales job etc… I highly recommend looking to see if there is any remote positions that could possibly fit what you would like to do.
Like mentioned previously, try and see if there are any coffee events around your area and I also encourage you to ask around. Go to local coffee shops and see if they know anyone who might be able to help you with your next opportunity, or if they themselves have any opportunities for you. You never know if someone is starting a new coffee venture and could use help.
My last advise might not be for everyone and depending on what road you chose it might be more difficult, but for my entrepreneurial folk out there this might just be the option for you. Starting a business is no small feat but it is doable if you do it correctly and do your research.
Conclusion
Regardless of your situation, there is always a road map to the end goal. Remember taking on the task of growing both personal and career takes dedication and hard work. I would take on any new opportunities as you might ever know what you could like or the next job that you could be offered. Explore the world of coffee and be creative, this industry moves fast and has a lot to offer. You just need to place yourself in front of it to really see the endless potential and opportunities that await! If you want to explore the different job opportunities that the world of coffee has to offer, check out my free guide on Different career options in the world of coffee.
What are your thoughts? Have any advice for the avid coffee lover finding their career? Comment below!
