Cooks, Restaurant vs First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers: $37K vs $44K Median Pay

Cooks, Restaurant vs First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers: what changes?

Consider Cooks, Restaurant if you want to prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. Consider First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers if you would rather directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in preparing and serving food. Entry credentials differ: Cooks, Restaurant, no formal educational credential; First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers, high school diploma or equivalent. Prior experience in a related occupation is typically needed for Cooks, Restaurant (less than 5 years) and First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers (less than 5 years).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Cooks, Restaurant and First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving 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, 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

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers

National median pay (2025): $44,080
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 years
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Resolve customer complaints regarding food service.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 171,500

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 First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers brief

How the national numbers differ

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on projected growth

Cooks, Restaurant is at 12.1% projected growth, compared with 5.4% projected growth for First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers.

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers has the edge on median pay

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers is at $44,080, compared with $37,390 for Cooks, Restaurant.

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on annual openings

Cooks, Restaurant is at 218,600 annual openings, compared with 171,500 annual openings for First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers.

67.2/ 100

Cooks, Restaurant

64.5/ 100

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving 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, Restaurant vs First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers

Dimension	Cooks, Restaurant	First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
Median pay (2025)	$37,390	$44,080
Pay percentile	7.1 percentile	16.4 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	12.1%	5.4%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	218,600	171,500
2025 employment	1,417,500	1,236,400
How you qualify	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	High school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 years
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 2
Related work experience	Prior related experience: less than 5 years.	Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
On-the-job training	More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.

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

Read Cooks, Restaurant brief Read First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers brief

Cooks, Restaurant vs First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Cooks, Restaurant

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers

How the national numbers differ

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on projected growth

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers has the edge on median pay

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on annual openings

Cooks, Restaurant vs First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers

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