What is success? I asked this question and received this answer: “My son is a success,” he answered.

Inwardly I groaned. Crumbs, I thought, now I’m in for it. I resigned myself to suffering through a story about his son, Mr. Moneybags, complete with adorable grandchildren — the lot. “Oh,” said I. “Do tell me about him.”

So he did.

Turns out his son was a rotten kid from the day he was born. By the time he was 12, he had already been in trouble with the law. At 17, he dropped out of school and became a drug dealer. He made so much money, he was able to buy himself a monster expensive motor bike. Three days later he lost control of the bike and hit a tree.  In an instant he was paralyzed from the waist down. He’ll be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

The accident happened a few years ago. Since then, the son has invented several valuable tools that help paraplegics. He has testified before Congress on behalf of handicapped people.

He has achieved success in the journey of life.

I’m telling you this story because success has many faces. If you want a lifelong career that doesn’t conform with the norm, you must hold fast to your dream and not let others talk you out of it. On the other hand, when job hunting, it makes a whole lot of sense to consider working for a company that is in its ascendancy rather than one that looks as though its future could be dicey. For example, without wishing to dash any hopes, I wouldn’t set my heart on becoming a syndicated newspaper writer. Newspapers are vanishing like the smile on the face of the Cheshire Cat.

This morning in Nation’s Restaurant News online, I learned Panera Bread Co. has raised its full-year fiscal 2010 outlook after reporting a 33-percent jump in income for the second quarter and had a 14-percent jump in revenue…

In case you might be seeking work as a pastry chef or a bread baker or if you are interested in research and development, Panera may be just the place for you.

Alternatively look into the most forward looking supermarkets and discover the opportunities for employment at such fine organizations as Wegman’s. You may be surprised to find there really are many super jobs in supermarkets and in the best of chain restaurants like Chipotle.

A definition of success, after all, is whatever makes you happy.

The times they are a-changing! The passage of Health Care Reform immediately opens up job opportunities and culinary careers for us foodies. For I predict there will be greater emphasis on wellness — wellness that springs from a far greater emphasis on helping others make wise food choices.

The idea of eating well, (or, at least better), increasingly begins before the beginning. It has become accepted that pregnant women should watch what they eat to better ensure that their well-nourished babies get a huge head start in life.

I would not have believed this had I not seen it with my own eyes. Decades ago, at the moment the government in the U.K. instituted the National Health System, it was decided that all graduate nurses who wished to specialize in a specific branch of medicine, were required to first become midwives. To this day I have never understood the logic of this, but in order to concentrate on my chosen field of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, I trudged to Aberdeen, Scotland, to assist in the birth of 50 babies. (Fifty was the number required to achieve certification.)

All this is a preamble to say that when we nurses arrived on the obstetrics ward we could often match the contented babies to their contented mothers. The fractious, restless, sometimes low birth-weight babies, could similarly be identified with their Moms. Failure to thrive doesn’t occur at the moment of birth, but as  a result of  poor nutrition during gestation.

The risks and rewards of securing a healthful diet have lifetime consequences. Fortunately we can already see healthy and nutritious food choices taking up more shelf space in supermarkets.

Healthy food is now prepared in hospitals and company cafeterias, in schools in school systems and colleges, museum restaurants, spas, in the military and upscale retirement homes.

Local farms are providing farm-to-table fruits, vegetables, grass-fed meats and free-range chickens and sustainable fish for restaurants. And farmers’ markets are gaining more fans.

This rethinking of the food everyone will be eating is gathering momentum not only to those who can afford the very best but for everyone.

We are also seeing large food processing companies and chain restaurants  improving the nutrient profile of their foods. These are small steps, admittedly, and perhaps the cynics will be justified in sniffing that these are more public relations moves than a genuine interest in improving the diet of a very large planet. But steps, no matter how small, are still steps that offer employment for many good cooks and culinary school graduates.

How can you get in on this? How do you get started?

Decide which specific sector of the vast, ever-expanding food and hospitality field appeals to you, and make a goal to join it. For instance, Sodexo and Aramark have employees working worldwide in institutional food service, sports stadiums and facilities of every kind. Their customers are seeking fast yet healthy choices.

Check out the web sites of companies known for promoting healthy, delicious foods, such as Wegmans and Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.

Explore the employment opportunities in menu development for your local hospital and school systems. For instance, consider volunteering to teach a class of kids how to start their own school garden and develop recipes from their harvest.

Lastly, track down specific trade magazines and check out the classified pages that list job openings.

These suggestions are merely a start. You will find your own way. Whether you agree or disagree with the new Health Care Reform, there are food job opportunities to seize.

Will Write for Food by Dianne Jacob

I’ve met many students who want to write about food and I  try my utmost to be encouraging. It’s always been difficult to earn a decent living as a writer but I can’t remember a time when it has been more challenging.

Even so, there are doors that are open a crack and with a little ingenuity and masses of determination it is possible to push them wide open.

It is important to know, what exactly, a food writer does. Scott Jones, Food Editor of Southern Living and a CIA (Culinary Institute of America) grad describes it well: “Writers research, write, edit, proofread, and check facts (including testing recipes) in jobs such as: newspaper columnist, cookbook author, and restaurant critic. As a food editor for a publisher, you’ll review cookbook proposals and take an accepted book from contract to print. Editors also work for magazines, newspapers, and television shows, setting the content and style of their food section or programming. In this field, you’ll need strong writing skills, knowledge of culinary principles, and familiarity with current consumer and industry trends.”

That all sounds good. So, let’s look at the bad news first. The prospects of landing a job as a syndicated newspaper writer are slim and getting slimmer. The possibility of finding work as a regular newspaper columnist are thin and getting thinner as circulation and advertising numbers shrink, and few funds can be found for opinion pieces. Many resort to simple seasonal recipes with text, recipes and photographs provided free by commodity boards. Cross off newspapers as a potential employer unless you decide to become a hard food news journalist where hyper-local is the current trend.  This job has to be undertaken by a local writer.

How about food magazines?  As we all know, Gourmet is gone. The bad news here is though a fortunate few manage to secure freelance writing assignments. They are a precious few and they are, (sorry to say), often big names or “known” to the food editor. So forget about FOOD & WINE, Bon Appetit or Saveur and the other giants in the field.

This brings us to all the good news. The familiar food magazines do not provide the only home for your writings. Go to any of the major booksellers, and scan the incredible number of magazines that offer opportunities you may not have previously explored. Look at local publications too. Often the chamber of commerce or real estate groups publish their own (sometimes very handsome) magazines as do medical groups and other special interest organizations. And don’t forget about food blogs for food magazines.

Wegmans is just one of the many excellent supermarket publications, and then there are the huge number of trade magazines: FOOD ARTS, Chef magazine and Chef Educator Today, Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Business, Restaurant Hospitality, Tea Times, Mushroom Growers, as well as catering and specialty food industry publications. Check online to find the names of the astonishing number there are.

There are other ways to dip your toe in the food writing world. There are food writing courses and coaches and writing programs to choose from, though I highly recommend New York University Steinhardt Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health.

But whichever direction you decide to travel, you must write regularly. The difference between a writer and a professional writer is the professional never gives up.

There are three reasons a writer becomes successful; no one knows what they are.