Food Preparation Workers

What Food Preparation Workers Do

Perform a variety of food preparation duties other than cooking, such as preparing cold foods and shellfish, slicing meat, and brewing coffee or tea.

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience

None

On-the-job training

Short-term on-the-job training

Self-employed

0.5%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

• Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.3/5
• Food Productionimportance 2.9/5
• Production and Processingimportance 2.7/5
• English Languageimportance 2.4/5
• Administration and Managementimportance 2.3/5
• Psychologyimportance 1.8/5
• Education and Trainingimportance 1.8/5
• Public Safety and Securityimportance 1.8/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.7/5
• Spend Time Standing4.4/5
• Contact With Others4.2/5
• Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets4.2/5
• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.2/5
• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.1/5

Related Careers

• Cooks, Restaurant
• Cooks, Short Order
• Fast Food and Counter Workers
• Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
• Butchers and Meat Cutters
• Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
• Bakers
• Food Servers, Nonrestaurant

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

• Flight Attendants96% skill match
• Tellers96% skill match
• Cutters and Trimmers, Hand96% skill match
• Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators96% skill match
• Radiologists96% skill match
• Log Graders and Scalers95% skill match
• Fire Inspectors and Investigators95% skill match
• Medical Dosimetrists95% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

• Service Orientationimportance 3.0/5
• Time Managementimportance 3.0/5
• Coordinationimportance 2.9/5
• Social Perceptivenessimportance 2.6/5
• Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 2.4/5
• Quality Control Analysisimportance 2.1/5
• Persuasionimportance 2.0/5
• Instructingimportance 2.0/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

• Dependability
• Attention to Detail
• Cautiousness
• Cooperation
• Stress Tolerance
• Self-Control
• Integrity

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

• RealisticHigh
• ConventionalMedium
• SocialLow
• EnterprisingLow
• ArtisticLow
• InvestigativeLow

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where food preparation workers make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

1. 1Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA3.68× national avg
2. 2Lake Charles, LA3.32× national avg
3. 3Monroe, LA3.25× national avg
4. 4Lafayette, LA3.16× national avg
5. 5Hammond, LA3.15× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

• Flight AttendantsCareer Change
• Maids and Housekeeping CleanersCareer Change
• Animal CaretakersCareer Change
• Log Graders and ScalersCareer Change

See the full career path from Food Preparation Workers →