Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between catering assistants and food service assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a catering assistant has an average salary of $32,101, which is higher than the $29,354 average annual salary of a food service assistant.
The top three skills for a catering assistant include patients, food service and customer service. The most important skills for a food service assistant are patients, customer service, and food handling.
| Catering Assistant | Food Service Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $32,101 | $29,354 |
| Hourly rate | $15.43 | $14.11 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 10,042 | 149,665 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 33% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A catering assistant is responsible for supporting catering operations, especially on outdoor gatherings and social events. Catering assistants prepare the buffet area and ensure the adequacy of foods and beverages, and provide the best customer service for the guests' satisfaction. Catering assistants must have excellent communication skills, responding to the guests' inquiries and concerns about the dish, and resolving immediate complaints. They maintain the cleanliness of the buffet station, strictly adhering to the sanitary standards and hygienic regulations.
A food service assistant helps in food and beverage preparation and serving customers. Foodservice assistants make sure that great customer service is provided to clients. Their duties include answering phone calls for inquiries, providing information, selling products, and solving problems. They may function as cashiers in restaurants or any other food service institution. Upon receiving customer complaints, they escalate them to top management. This job requires people skills, communication skills, and food service knowledge.
Catering assistants and food service assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Catering Assistant | Food Service Assistant | |
| Average salary | $32,101 | $29,354 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $38,000 | Between $23,000 And $36,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Springfield, MA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Massachusetts General Hospital | Fremont Public Schools |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Retail |
There are a few differences between a catering assistant and a food service assistant in terms of educational background:
| Catering Assistant | Food Service Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between catering assistants' and food service assistants' demographics:
| Catering Assistant | Food Service Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.2% Female, 67.8% | Male, 35.9% Female, 64.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 7.2% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 8.7% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |