Chefs and Head Cooks
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.
What it pays
Chefs and Head Cooks earn a median of $30.03/hr — about $62,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $18.22/hr; the top 10% earn $47.39/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Chefs and Head Cooks earn a median of $30.03/hr — about $62,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $18.22/hr; the top 10% earn $47.39/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations.
- Check the quality of raw or cooked food products to ensure that standards are met.
- Determine production schedules and staff requirements necessary to ensure timely delivery of services.
- Check the quantity and quality of received products.
- Supervise or coordinate activities of cooks or workers engaged in food preparation.
- Determine how food should be presented and create decorative food displays.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: medium preparation (Job Zone 3 of 5).
The feel of the work
You're around people constantly; time pressure is a real part of the job. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 6.3% of chefs and head cooks are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are take-charge, hands-on and organized and detail-focused.
Work a simulated shift in this job — freeMake the real decisions this job involves, then see what your choices say about you.Related careers
- Cooks, Private Household
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
- Cooks, All Other
- Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
- Cooks, Restaurant
- Cooks, Short Order
Quick questions
- How much does a chefs and head cook make?
- The median pay is $30.03 per hour — roughly $62,500 a year, with the real range running from about $18.22/hr (10th percentile) to $47.39/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a chefs and head cook?
- The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: medium preparation (Job Zone 3 of 5).
- What does a chefs and head cook actually do all day?
- Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations. Check the quality of raw or cooked food products to ensure that standards are met. Determine production schedules and staff requirements necessary to ensure timely delivery of services.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.