Food Service Managers

What Food Service Managers Do

Plan, direct, or coordinate activities of an organization or department that serves food and beverages.

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience

Less than 5 years

On-the-job training

Short-term on-the-job training

Self-employed

30.3%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

Key Knowledge Areas

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

• Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.5/5
• Administration and Managementimportance 4.1/5
• Food Productionimportance 4.0/5
• English Languageimportance 3.5/5
• Personnel and Human Resourcesimportance 3.5/5
• Sales and Marketingimportance 3.4/5
• Mathematicsimportance 3.4/5
• Administrativeimportance 3.3/5

Work Environment

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

• Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team5.0/5
• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.9/5
• Contact With Others4.8/5
• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.7/5
• Telephone Conversations4.6/5
• Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers4.6/5

Related Careers

• Chefs and Head Cooks
• First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
• Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
• Cooks, Restaurant
• Cooks, Private Household
• Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
• Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop
• First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

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.

• First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers98% skill match
• Chefs and Head Cooks97% skill match
• First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers96% skill match
• Administrative Services Managers96% skill match
• First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers95% skill match
• First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives95% skill match
• Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners95% skill match
• Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling95% skill match

Transferable Skills

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

• Coordinationimportance 3.9/5
• Management of Personnel Resourcesimportance 3.9/5
• Service Orientationimportance 3.8/5
• Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.6/5
• Time Managementimportance 3.5/5
• Negotiationimportance 3.1/5
• Instructingimportance 3.1/5
• Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.1/5

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
• Leadership Orientation
• Cooperation
• Attention to Detail
• Social Orientation
• Stress Tolerance
• Self-Control

Career Interests

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

• EnterprisingHigh
• ConventionalHigh
• RealisticMedium
• SocialMedium
• InvestigativeLow
• ArtisticLow

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

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

1. 1Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC2.62× national avg
2. 2Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ2.59× national avg
3. 3Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC2.58× national avg
4. 4Kahului-Wailuku, HI2.45× national avg
5. 5Rapid City, SD2.40× national avg

Possible Career Moves

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

• First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving WorkersCareer Change
• Chefs and Head CooksCareer Change
• First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service WorkersCareer Change
• First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial WorkersCareer Change

See the full career path from Food Service Managers →

Related Education Programs

Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.