Prep Cook
Impact: Direct
Prepares food items for cooking by washing, peeling, chopping, and cutting ingredients. Assists cooks and chefs in various kitchen tasks to ensure smooth operation and timely meal preparation.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Moderate
- Team vs solo
- Team
- Client facing
- Never
- Impact visibility
- Low
- Travel
- None
- Schedule flexibility
- Rigid
- Remote work
- On-site Only
- Typical work hours
- 40 hours/week
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $30,000
- Entry-level
- $25,000
- Senior
- $35,000
- Growth by 2033
- Average
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- Low
- Typical student debt
- None
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Knife Skills
- Food Preparation
- Sanitation
Soft skills
- Attention to Detail
- Time Management
- Communication
Technical complexity: Low
How to get there
- Minimum education
- High School Diploma or GED
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 2
- Years to senior
- 5
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Cook, Line Cook, Sous Chef
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- Medium
- AI disruption risk
- Low
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.5/10
- Meaning
- 3/10
- Work-life balance
- 3/10
- Prestige
- 2.5/10
- Social perception
- Moderate