Also called: Head Chef, Head Cook
Runs one restaurant's kitchen and shapes its food under an owner or executive chef.
You taste every sauce, write specials from what the farmers brought, and manage a team of 10-30. Mornings are menus and food costs; nights are on the pass calling tickets. You are responsible for the kitchen's quality and its budget.
BLS chefs and head cooks figures.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 2 years after high school. Culinary degree or 5-10 years of kitchen experience.
Ways in: On-the-job training, 2-year college, Trade school, 4-year college. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management.
Growing faster than average (about 7% over 10 years). Much faster than average; about 24,000 openings per year.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps cost menus and order stock; creating dishes and leading a kitchen team stay human.
Classes: Culinary arts CTE, Business, Chemistry.
Official data: O*NET occupation 35-1011.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.