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Cooks, Restaurant

General Information

Description

Prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. May order supplies, keep records and accounts, price items on menu, or plan menu.

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Workplace at a Glance

What you can expect to experience while on the job

  • Responsibility
  • Exposure to job hazards
  • Physical activity
  • Decision making
  • Repetitiveness
  • Level of competition
  • Time pressure

Industry areas

  • Hospitality & Tourism

Job Outlook

Overall employment of cooks is projected to grow 16 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations. About 480,600 openings for cooks are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

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Job Outlook

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Overall employment of cooks is projected to grow 16 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations. About 480,600 openings for cooks are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

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Salary

Average Salary

Salary

$30,010

Military salary*

$53,931

Explore this career in the Military

State-by-state Salary

Gray states indicate no data available

$37,520
$18,000
No Information for this section

Education

Most Common Education Levels

People in this career achieve this level of education.

  • High school 44%
  • Less than high school 18%
  • Post-secondary certificate 17%
  • Some college 11%
  • Associate's degree 4%
  • Post-doctoral training 2%
  • Master's degree 0%
  • Doctoral degree 0%
  • Bachelor's degree 0%
  • Post baccalaureate 0%
  • Post-master's certificate 0%
  • First professional degree 0%

Related College Majors

Select major to see colleges that offer it

Knowledge

  • Food Production
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Education and Training
  • Production and Processing
  • Administration and Management

Skills at a Glance

Skills helpful in this career

  • Verbal skills
  • Critical thinking & problem solving
  • Equipment operation & maintenance
  • Math & science skills
  • Technology design & control
  • Leadership
No Information for this section

* Military pay may be higher based on specialty pays or bonuses. Learn more about Military benefits.

Data supplied by Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Center of Education Statistics, Defense Manpower Data Center (View our update schedule). Contact any business, college or military service branch to answer additional questions.