How much can a hotel front desk manager, a chef, an events planner or a restaurant owner expect to earn? And if you are considering a career path in the tourism and hospitality industry, is this the industry for you? If so, what are the educational qualifications and skill sets that you need?

How much can you earn working at the hotel front desk?

The following positions are listed in ascending order of seniority:

Front office agent/receptionist: $1,200 to $1,500

Front desk assistant manager: $1,500 to $1,800

Duty manager/reception manager: $2,000 to $2,800

Other positions include the assistant front office manager, front office manager and the rooms division manager.

According to a front desk manager for a Singaporean hotel (see story below), the pay scale for front office positions depends on the employer and relevant working experience.

'I had to walk up with a guest to the 9th floor'

How much can you earn as a chef?
The jobs below are listed in ascending order of seniority and position.

Commis cook: $1,000 to $1,200

Cook: $1,200 to $1,300

Chef de partie: $1,700 to $2,000

Junior sous chef: $2,200 to $2,500

Sous chef: $2,800 to $3,200

Executive chef: $6,000 to $10,000, depending on your years of work experience.

'Weirdest ingredient I ever used? A sea urchin'

How much is the starting pay for a hotel events sales employee?
The pay for a person starting in this field is likely to be between $1,200 and $1,600.The positions in the job are, in ascending order of seniority:

Events sales co-ordinator

Events sales executive

Assistant events sales manager

Events sales manager

Events sales senior manager

Assistant director, events sales

Director, events sales

Depending on the hotel, a sales director, with more than 10 years of experience, could earn $140,000 to $250,000 a year.

Organising a picture-perfect wedding

How much can you earn when you start your own food business?
Haresh's starting pay (see story below) when he was with MPH Limited - The Book Cafe was $3,000. But he said the relatively high salary was unusual - and a vote of confidence in his ability to recreate the menu to make it more interesting.

As a business owner, Haresh initially drew a salary of about $3,000, which mostly went to bills. He and his brother invested $120,000 to start up the business. Practically all of the revenue went back into the restaurants. At one point, he had so little money that his car was repossessed.

Today, after five years of hard work, he is able to earn double the $3,000 he drew initially.

Starting your own food business? Read this first

Considering the Tourism and Hospitality industry

Could this be the job for you?

Tourism and hospitality degree courses

These articles were first published in IN, a publication of The Straits Times, on Nov 10, 2008.