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The differences between catering assistants and food service workers 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 $28,753 average annual salary of a food service worker.
The top three skills for a catering assistant include patients, food service and customer service. The most important skills for a food service worker are food handling, safety standards, and customer service.
| Catering Assistant | Food Service Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $32,101 | $28,753 |
| Hourly rate | $15.43 | $13.82 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 10,042 | 169,323 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | High School Diploma, 44% |
| 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.
Foodservice workers are employees at restaurants, food trucks, or any outlet that provides food to customers. They may be assigned to welcome customers, take food orders, prepare food orders in the kitchen, serve food, handle customer payments, clean up the tables once the guests leave, or maintain the whole store's cleanliness. They may also be assigned to manage inventories, handle stocks and deliveries, and other activities related to the restaurant's successful operations. Foodservice workers must always be hygienic and maintain the sanitation of the area to ensure food safety.
Catering assistants and food service workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Catering Assistant | Food Service Worker | |
| Average salary | $32,101 | $28,753 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $38,000 | Between $22,000 And $36,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Urban Honolulu, HI |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Massachusetts General Hospital | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Retail |
There are a few differences between a catering assistant and a food service worker in terms of educational background:
| Catering Assistant | Food Service Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | High School Diploma, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between catering assistants' and food service workers' demographics:
| Catering Assistant | Food Service Worker | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.2% Female, 67.8% | Male, 36.6% Female, 63.4% |
| 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, 12.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 7.1% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |