The people who actually cook: from the prep station and the line to the executive chef who designs the menu and runs the whole kitchen.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Corporate Executive Chef: Creates and tests menu items for restaurant chains or food-service companies, rolling them out to hundreds of locations. Typical pay $130k.
Sous Chef: The executive chef's second-in-command who runs the line and the cooks day to day. Typical pay $55k.
Chef de Cuisine: Runs one restaurant's kitchen and shapes its food under an owner or executive chef. Typical pay $61k.
Private Chef: Cooks for one wealthy household, a family, or an athlete, often traveling with them. Typical pay $100k.
Yacht Chef: Cooks restaurant-quality meals for guests and crew aboard private superyachts. Typical pay $80k.
Executive Chef: Leads all food operations for a large restaurant, hotel, or group of kitchens. Typical pay $90k.
Chef-Owner: Owns the restaurant and runs the kitchen, betting their own money on their food. Typical pay $85k.
Executive Sous Chef: The number-two leader in a big kitchen like a hotel, casino, or restaurant group. Typical pay $72k.
Starter: fastest way in
Prep Cook: Washes, chops, portions, and pre-cooks ingredients so the line is ready for service. Typical pay $35k.
Line Cook: Cooks dishes to order on one station (grill, sauté, fry) during service. Typical pay $37k.
Short-Order Cook: Cooks quick dishes like eggs, burgers, and sandwiches in diners and cafes. Typical pay $33k.
Institutional Cook: Cooks large batches for schools, hospitals, universities, prisons, or corporate cafeterias. Typical pay $35k.
Sushi Chef: Breaks down whole fish and crafts sushi and sashimi, often right in front of guests. Typical pay $42k.
Pitmaster: Runs the smokers at a barbecue restaurant, managing fire, wood, and meat for 12+ hour cooks. Typical pay $42k.
Butcher: Breaks down whole animals into steaks, roasts, and sausages for shops and restaurants. Typical pay $39k.
Garde Manger: Runs the cold kitchen: salads, charcuterie, terrines, cheese, and decorative platters. Typical pay $42k.
Dishwasher / Kitchen Porter: Keeps a kitchen running by washing dishes, pots, and utensils and keeping the space clean. Typical pay $35k.
Fast-Food Cook: Cooks burgers, fries, tacos, and other menu items in a quick-service restaurant. Typical pay $31k.
Pizzaiolo (Pizza Chef): Makes pizza dough, stretches pies by hand, and runs a wood-fired or deck oven. Typical pay $38k.
Teppanyaki (Hibachi) Chef: Cooks on a flat grill right in front of diners while doing knife tricks and jokes. Typical pay $42k.
Kitchen Expeditor (Expo): Stands between the kitchen and dining room making sure every plate is correct and goes out on time. Typical pay $36k.
Fermentation Chef: Makes the house misos, kimchis, hot sauces, vinegars and koji seasonings that give a restaurant or food company its signature flavors. Typical pay $52k.
Dim Sum Chef: Hand-makes hundreds of tiny Cantonese dumplings, buns and rolls each morning for dim sum restaurants, folding each one with exact pleats. Typical pay $45k.
Luau Imu Cook: Roasts whole pigs in an underground imu oven of hot rocks and banana leaves for Hawaiian luaus, following an old Polynesian method. Typical pay $42k.
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.