Too many paths to take
The coffee chain is so long, and so widespread, that it can be insanely frustrating to know where to find your place. From coffee farmer, producer, green coffee buyer, roaster, barista, instructor, q grader, production assistant, cafe manager, content creator, blogger, up until business owner (and many more that I’m not aware of)
The more I get frustrated when I am told to choose. Why should I? What if I’d love to learn everything? Can I do that? Honestly, I have no clue. This is absolutely uncertain, but I want to make it possible.
I realize that my biggest goal to be a business owner is to go through most of the career paths in coffee, in order to empathize with every sector, and to educate future professionals with honest intentions. To learn, I must experience things firsthand. I want to understand every problem in every sector, in order to correct what I can control.
So many people do really great with sticking to one of these professions or marking 2 or 3 possible careers in coffee, and we need those people. They find themselves passionate on that job, and we need them to pass that level of expertise to whoever's interested. That may be not your style, but it could also be!
With that said, coffee careers are everywhere. Right now, I’m currently in the process of barista -> coffee farm -> ? . I’d really love to complete all the SCA classes and get the diploma, while working as a cafe manager, or compete in a Barista competition.
The challenge is to find the right opportunity, and manage finances well by doing so. A barista job isn’t paid enough. Damn, I wish I had a mentor and I knew what to do.