Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement:
Most kitchen workers start as fastfood or shortorder cooks, or in one of the other less skilled kitchen positions that require little education or training and that allow them to acquire their skills on the job. After acquiring some basic food handling, preparation, and cooking skills, they may be able to advance to an assistant cook position, but many years of training and experience are necessary to achieve the level of skill required of an executive chef or cook in a fine restaurant. Even though a high school diploma is not required for beginning jobs, it is recommended for those planning a career as a cook or chef. High school or vocational school courses in business arithmetic and business administration are particularly helpful.

Job Outlook:
Job openings for chefs, cooks, and other kitchen workers are expected to be excellent through the year 2005, with approximately 4,282,000 workers in the industry. Growth in demand for these workers will create many new jobs, but most openings will arise from the need to replace the relatively high proportion of workers who leave this very large occupation each year. There is substantial turnover in many of these jobs because their limited requirements for formal education and training allow easy entry, and the many parttime positions are attractive to persons seeking a shortterm source of income rather than a career. Many of the workers who leave these jobs transfer to other occupations, while others stop working to assume household responsibilities or to attend school full time.

Sources of Additional Information:

Information about job opportunities may be obtained from local employers and local offices of the state employment service.

Career information about chefs, cooks, and other kitchen workers, as well as a directory of two- and four-year colleges that offer courses or programs that prepare persons for food service careers, is available from: