Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

Overview

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria has a national median salary of $37,450 per year, with +2.8% projected job growth from 2025–2035. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists no formal educational credential as the typical education needed to enter this occupation.

Description

Prepare and cook large quantities of food for institutions, such as schools, hospitals, or cafeterias.

Work Values

• Relationships
• Support
• Independence

Work Styles

Responsibilities

Tasks

• Monitor and record food temperatures to ensure food safety.
• Cook foodstuffs according to menus, special dietary or nutritional restrictions, or numbers of portions to be served.
• Rotate and store food supplies.
• Wash pots, pans, dishes, utensils, or other cooking equipment.
• Apportion and serve food to facility residents, employees, or patrons.

Work Activities

• Getting Information
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
• Assisting and Caring for Others
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Detailed Work Activities

• Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
• Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

T-A-S-K

Technology, Abilities, Skills & Knowledge

Education

Education Levels of Current Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists no formal educational credential as the typical education needed to enter this occupation. The chart below shows the highest level of education held by people already working in this field, ages 25 and older. It includes workers who earned more education than the job requires and workers who entered the field under earlier requirements, so the largest bar is not the entry requirement. For example, if someone finished an associate's degree and then started working in this field, they are counted under “Associate's degree” here, but the job itself typically asks for no formal educational credential.

Certificates

Certifications applicable to Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria:

Video Resources