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Chefs and Head Cooks

Typical education: Associate degreeHigh pressure Bright Outlook

What they do

Direct and may participate in the preparation, seasoning, and cooking of salads, soups, fish, meats, vegetables, desserts, or other foods. May plan and price menu items, order supplies, and keep records and accounts.

Kinds of work

  • Enterprising: Leading, persuading, selling and starting new projects or businesses.
  • Realistic: Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals, often outdoors.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.

High pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $62,470 Median per year · $30.03/hr Most earn $37,900–$98,560

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Estimate amounts and costs of required supplies, such as food and ingredients.
  • Determine production schedules and staff requirements necessary to ensure timely delivery of services.
  • Instruct cooks or other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, or presentation of food.
  • Meet with sales representatives to negotiate prices or order supplies.
  • Supervise or coordinate activities of cooks or workers engaged in food preparation.
  • Check the quantity and quality of received products.

Job outlook

Bright Outlook Rapid Growth

United States
7% more jobs by 2035, faster than average · about 25,200 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Full-service restaurants46.5%
  • Special food services9.6%
  • Self-employed (their own business)6.8%
  • Continuing care retirement communities and assisted living facilities for the elderly2.3%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

On-siteExperience before this job: 2 to 4 years

Some people start through an apprenticeship: paid training on the job, often with classes. Search apprenticeships on Apprenticeship.gov (opens in a new tab) ↗

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: Associate degreeExperience before this job: 2 to 4 years

Chef and head cook is not an entry-level job. Most people start as a cook, build kitchen experience for about 2 to 4 years, and often take a culinary program along the way, so the full path usually takes several years.

  1. High school diploma plus culinary coursework

    4 years

    Finishing high school and taking cooking or food classes builds the basics of knives, food safety, and kitchen math that employers expect.

  2. Associate degree in culinary arts

    2 years

    This is the typical education for chefs, and it teaches cooking techniques, menu planning, food safety, and kitchen management.

  3. Restaurant Cook

    2-4 years

    Working on a restaurant line gives hands-on experience with prep, cooking, timing, and teamwork, and it builds the skills needed to lead a kitchen.

  4. Chef and Head Cook

    2-4 years in the previous role

    Chefs and head cooks direct the kitchen, plan menus, price dishes, order supplies, and keep records, often while still cooking themselves.

Where it can lead

  1. Executive Chef

    Several years as a chef or head cook of experience first

    An executive chef oversees the whole kitchen, including multiple chefs, budgets, and the restaurant's overall food direction, which usually comes with years of proven leadership.

  2. Food Service Manager

    Several years in a kitchen leadership role of experience first

    Food service managers run the business side of a restaurant or cafeteria, including staffing, budgets, and customer service, and it helps to have strong management and business skills.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take family and consumer sciences or culinary classesThese classes teach cooking methods, knife skills, and food safety, which are the foundation for a culinary career.
  • Get a part-time job in a restaurant or food serviceEven a dishwashing or prep job exposes you to how a professional kitchen works and can lead to cook positions later.
  • Volunteer at a community kitchen or food bankCooking for large groups builds speed, teamwork, and experience with feeding many people at once.
  • Cook meals at home and plan them on a budgetPlanning menus and shopping within a budget practices the same skills chefs use to price dishes and order supplies.

In college

  • Enroll in a culinary arts or food service programAn associate degree in culinary arts is the typical education for this career and teaches the core cooking and kitchen management skills.
  • Work in a restaurant kitchen during schoolA part-time cook job lets you apply classroom skills under real pressure and builds the 2 to 4 years of experience employers look for.
  • Get a food safety certificationFood handler or food safety manager certification is commonly required in kitchens and shows employers you know safe food handling.
  • Take business, accounting, or math classesChefs price menu items, order supplies, and keep records, so basic bookkeeping and cost control will help you move into leadership.

Tips for getting started

  • Get a job in a kitchen as early as you can, even as a dishwasher or prep cook, so you can learn how a real kitchen runs.
  • Learn food safety basics and consider a food handler certification, since most kitchens require it and it shows employers you take the work seriously.
  • Practice writing down recipes, costing out dishes, and planning simple menus, because chefs spend a lot of time on these tasks.

Related jobs that often lead here

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

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