Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria vs Cooks, Restaurant: Similar Pay, 2.8% vs 12.1% Growth

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria vs Cooks, Restaurant: what changes?

Consider Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria if you want to prepare and cook large quantities of food for institutions, such as schools, hospitals, or cafeterias. Consider Cooks, Restaurant if you would rather prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. Both list no formal educational credential; compare training and prior experience separately. Prior experience in a related occupation is typically needed for Cooks, Restaurant (less than 5 years).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria and Cooks, Restaurant. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

National median pay (2025): $37,450
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Monitor and record food temperatures to ensure food safety.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 62,900

Know before you choose

Long periods of standing are part of the normal workday.

See the full Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria brief

Cooks, Restaurant

National median pay (2025): $37,390
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; Prior related experience: less than 5 years; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 218,600

Know before you choose

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

See the full Cooks, Restaurant brief

How the national numbers differ

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on projected growth

Cooks, Restaurant is at 12.1% projected growth, compared with 2.8% projected growth for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria.

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on annual openings

Cooks, Restaurant is at 218,600 annual openings, compared with 62,900 annual openings for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria.

National pay benchmarks are very similar.

Compare actual offers, expected paid hours, schedule, and benefits before treating either career as the higher-paying option.

54/ 100

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

67.2/ 100

Cooks, Restaurant

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria vs Cooks, Restaurant

Dimension	Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria	Cooks, Restaurant
Median pay (2025)	$37,450	$37,390
Pay percentile	7.3 percentile	7.1 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	2.8%	12.1%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	62,900	218,600
2025 employment	454,000	1,417,500
How you qualify	No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	No formal educational credential; Prior related experience: less than 5 years; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 2
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

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Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria vs Cooks, Restaurant: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

Cooks, Restaurant

How the national numbers differ

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on projected growth

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on annual openings

National pay benchmarks are very similar.

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria vs Cooks, Restaurant

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