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The differences between diet clerks and food service assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a diet clerk has an average salary of $31,802, which is higher than the $29,354 average annual salary of a food service assistant.
The top three skills for a diet clerk include patients, allergies and tube feedings. The most important skills for a food service assistant are patients, customer service, and food handling.
| Diet Clerk | Food Service Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $31,802 | $29,354 |
| Hourly rate | $15.29 | $14.11 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 68,546 | 149,665 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 33% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A diet clerk is an assistant who serves meals to patients as well as assists in various processes that are related to the preparation and delivery of meals. Diet clerks must create cafeteria menu items while analyzing the nutritional values of the food that is served. They are required to check food production and food service to ensure proper procedures are always followed and maintained. Diet clerks must also supervise food service workers as well as provide training for them.
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.
Diet clerks and food service assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Diet Clerk | Food Service Assistant | |
| Average salary | $31,802 | $29,354 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $38,000 | Between $23,000 And $36,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Springfield, MA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | University of Washington | Fremont Public Schools |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Retail |
There are a few differences between a diet clerk and a food service assistant in terms of educational background:
| Diet Clerk | Food Service Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 33% |
| Most common major | Dietetics | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between diet clerks' and food service assistants' demographics:
| Diet Clerk | Food Service Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.0% Female, 87.0% | Male, 35.9% Female, 64.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 7.5% White, 55.9% 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% |