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The differences between dietary aides and food service workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food service worker has an average salary of $28,753, which is higher than the $28,005 average annual salary of a dietary aide.
The top three skills for a dietary aide include patients, meal trays and food service. The most important skills for a food service worker are food handling, safety standards, and customer service.
| Dietary Aide | Food Service Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $28,005 | $28,753 |
| Hourly rate | $13.46 | $13.82 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 44,494 | 169,323 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | 4 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 50% | High School Diploma, 44% |
| Average age | 41 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
A dietary aide is responsible for assisting food preparations and ensuring that the meals adhere to an individual's specific diet plans. Dietary aides must strictly follow sanitation standards and hygiene procedures to guarantee the safety and quality of the service. They also help in facilitating kitchen maintenance, keeping every area clean and organized. Dietary aides must also have comprehensive knowledge of nutritional guidelines to provide information and share suggestions as necessary to improve the service and preparations.
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.
Dietary aides and food service workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Dietary Aide | Food Service Worker | |
| Average salary | $28,005 | $28,753 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $35,000 | Between $22,000 And $36,000 |
| Highest paying City | Vancouver, WA | Urban Honolulu, HI |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Lifespan | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Retail |
There are a few differences between a dietary aide and a food service worker in terms of educational background:
| Dietary Aide | Food Service Worker | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 50% | High School Diploma, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between dietary aides' and food service workers' demographics:
| Dietary Aide | Food Service Worker | |
| Average age | 41 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8% | Male, 36.6% Female, 63.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 14.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 5.8% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | 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% |