Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria vs Fast Food and Counter Workers: $37K vs $31K Median Pay

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria vs Fast Food and Counter Workers: 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 Fast Food and Counter Workers if you would rather perform duties such as taking orders and serving food and beverages. Both list no formal educational credential; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria and Fast Food and Counter Workers. 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

Fast Food and Counter Workers

National median pay (2025): $31,200
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: Accept payment from customers, and make change as necessary.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 827,400

Know before you choose

Long periods of standing are part of the normal workday.

See the full Fast Food and Counter Workers brief

How the national numbers differ

Fast Food and Counter Workers has the edge on projected growth

Fast Food and Counter Workers is at 5.8% projected growth, compared with 2.8% projected growth for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria.

Fast Food and Counter Workers has the edge on annual openings

Fast Food and Counter Workers is at 827,400 annual openings, compared with 62,900 annual openings for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria.

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria has the edge on median pay

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria is at $37,450, compared with $31,200 for Fast Food and Counter Workers.

54/ 100

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

61.3/ 100

Fast Food and Counter Workers

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 Fast Food and Counter Workers

Dimension	Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria	Fast Food and Counter Workers
Median pay (2025)	$37,450	$31,200
Pay percentile	7.3 percentile	0.2 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	2.8%	5.8%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	62,900	827,400
2025 employment	454,000	3,855,900
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; One month or less 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.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	One month or less 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.

Read Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria brief Read Fast Food and Counter Workers brief

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria vs Fast Food and Counter Workers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

Fast Food and Counter Workers

How the national numbers differ

Fast Food and Counter Workers has the edge on projected growth

Fast Food and Counter Workers has the edge on annual openings

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria has the edge on median pay

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria vs Fast Food and Counter Workers

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