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Skilled Trades

Cooks, Restaurant

Prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. May order supplies, keep records and accounts, price items on menu, or plan menu.

Median salary (BLS)

$37,390

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$29k – $48k

Job outlook

+15% (much faster than average)

AI exposure

Plan a path to Cooks, Restaurant

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Education

Typical entry: No degree required

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How to qualify

EstimateLicense required

Cost to qualify

$100–$2,600

Time to qualify

3.1 yr

Renewal

$50/yr

  1. 1

    Registered apprenticeship (paid)

    Experience

    Earn-while-you-learn training — apprentices are paid during the program; fees are tools/books, not tuition.

    $0–$2,000 · 36 months · varies by state source

  2. 2

    Journeyman exam & state/local license

    License

    Most states and municipalities test and license journeyman-level trades workers.

    $100–$600 · 1 months · varies by state · renews every 2 yr source

Estimated typical U.S. route for "Cooks, Restaurant" — built from BLS education requirements and College Board 2024–25 average published prices (public, in-state tuition + fees + books). Not yet verified against a specific state's licensing rules — confirm with your state licensing board or program.

Typical progression

  1. Junior Cooks, Restaurant

    Entry / Junior

    $28,700

    ~2 yrs to advance

  2. Cooks, Restaurant

    Established

    $37,390

    ~3 yrs to advance

  3. Senior Cooks, Restaurant

    Senior

    $42,645

Key skills

A typical day

  • •Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.
  • •Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment, work surfaces, and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling practices.
  • •Portion, arrange, and garnish food, and serve food to waiters or patrons.
  • •Ensure freshness of food and ingredients by checking for quality, keeping track of old and new items, and rotating stock.
  • •Season and cook food according to recipes or personal judgment and experience.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Skilled Trades

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Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.