How To Become A Canteen Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a canteen operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a canteen operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.73 an hour? That's $32,718 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 14% and produce 775,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCanteen OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $32,718

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.2

Growth rate 14%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.85%

Asian 6.49%

Black or African American 9.64%

Hispanic or Latino 18.63%

Unknown 6.92%

White 57.47%

Gender

female 66.67%

male 33.33%

Age - 21

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 21

Stress level

4.2

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.0

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a canteen operator

Explore canteen operator education requirements

Most common canteen operator degrees

High School Diploma

26.3 %

Associate

26.3 %

Bachelor's

21.1 %

Start to develop specific canteen operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Inventory Control	78.39%
Customer Service	21.61%

Complete relevant canteen operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New canteen operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a canteen operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real canteen operator resumes.

Research canteen operator duties and responsibilities

Manage the master calendar and schedule resources such as communication equipment, weapons, transportation and ammunition forecast and delivery.
Inventory must be taken monthly and it is essential to keep items in stock.
Assist route drivers to deliver, stock and maintain vending machines throughout the day.
Conduct inventory and warehouse maintenance, as well as pull load orders for next day route deliveries.

Prepare your canteen operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your canteen operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a canteen operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable canteen operator resume templates

Build a professional canteen operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your canteen operator resume.