What Are My Career Options with a Hotel & Restaurant Management Degree?

<h3 id="section---EmploymentOpportunities">Employment Opportunities</h3> <p>With a focus on both hotel and restaurant management, students are prepared for most careers in the hospitality industry. This includes careers working at a front desk in a hotel, getting people rooms, and organizing events and meals. Working as a host or a cook in a restaurant, or catering and organizing food for weddings and other events are all career options. Someone with a degree in hotel and restaurant management could find employment cooking food in a cafeteria; managing a hotel or restaurant; designing menus; or opening a restaurant, spa, or bed and breakfast. </p> <h3 id="section---ImportantFactsAboutHospitalityOccupations">Important Facts About Hospitality Occupations</h3> <p /> <table border="1"><tr><td> Similar Occupations</td><td> bartenders; chefs; cooks; lodging managers; sales managers; waitstaff</td></tr> <tr><td> Number of Jobs (2021)</td><td> 51,200 (<i>for lodging managers</i>)</td></tr> <tr><td> Projected Job Growth (2021-2031)</td><td> 10% (<i>for food service managers</i>)</td></tr> <tr><td> Median Salary (2021)</td><td> $59,440 (<i>for food service managers</i>)</td></tr> </table><p><i>Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</i> </p> <h3 id="section---RetailIndustry">Retail Industry</h3> <p>A degree in hotel and restaurant management can also lead to career options in retail, such as managing other employees and ensuring products are available on shelves for customers. Buyers make sure the right amount of product is available to stores and businesses. Selling things, like timeshares or vacations, is another possibility. Retail positions cater to the customer and his or her needs, a big factor in hotel and restaurant management curricula. </p> <h3 id="section---Management">Management</h3> <p>Career options in general or executive management are another area to explore for someone with a degree in hotel and restaurant management. Management positions in hotels, restaurants, spas, stores, and other businesses are all possibilities. Business courses, such as marketing, accounting, sales, and finances, are typically included in a hotel and restaurant management program, so students simply have to apply what they know.</p>