Dietary worker vs food prep/dishwasher

The differences between dietary workers and food prep/dishwashers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food prep/dishwasher has an average salary of $29,964, which is higher than the $27,601 average annual salary of a dietary worker.

The top three skills for a dietary worker include patients, food service and customer service. The most important skills for a food prep/dishwasher are food preparation equipment, work ethic, and wash dishes.

Dietary worker vs food prep/dishwasher overview

	Dietary Worker	Food Prep/Dishwasher
Yearly salary	$27,601	$29,964
Hourly rate	$13.27	$14.41
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	44,736	113,200
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 45%	High School Diploma, 58%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	-	-

Dietary worker vs food prep/dishwasher salary

Dietary workers and food prep/dishwashers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dietary Worker	Food Prep/Dishwasher
Average salary	$27,601	$29,964
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $35,000	Between $24,000 And $37,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	University of Wisconsin System
Best paying industry	-	Professional

Differences between dietary worker and food prep/dishwasher education

There are a few differences between a dietary worker and a food prep/dishwasher in terms of educational background:

	Dietary Worker	Food Prep/Dishwasher
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 45%	High School Diploma, 58%
Most common major	Business	General Studies
Most common college	-	-

Dietary worker vs food prep/dishwasher demographics

Here are the differences between dietary workers' and food prep/dishwashers' demographics:

	Dietary Worker	Food Prep/Dishwasher
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 44.3% Female, 55.7%	Male, 79.9% Female, 20.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 6.9% White, 58.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between dietary worker and food prep/dishwasher duties and responsibilities

Dietary worker example responsibilities.

Job duties consist of delivering food trays to patients, maintaining a clean and sanitary work space, and restocking products.
Prepare and provide healthy meal to patients according to their nutritional requirement.
Assist with planning and directing food preparation and culinary activities along with safely handling and storing all products appropriately.
Experience in operating a heavy duty dishwasher
Stack washable items for dishwasher and operate dishwasher according to department guidelines.
Distribute meals, help with cleanup and adhere to hospital sanitation policies.

Food prep/dishwasher example responsibilities.

Prep food items and refrigerate appropriately, maintain cleanliness of restaurant, wash all dishes associate with the daily operations
Operate industrial dishwasher ensuring sanitation of all dishes.
Operate dishwasher keep kitchen clean organize and sanitize.
Take proper care of ranges, ovens, broilers, fryers, griddles, utensils and other equipment.
Gain knowledge of how to use kitchen tools such as blenders, fryers, coffee maker, and food processor.
Make smoothies, clean up after every smoothie, clean whole store, prep fruits and juices

Dietary worker vs food prep/dishwasher skills

Common dietary worker skills

Patients, 16%
Food Service, 15%
Customer Service, 13%
Dishes, 9%
Phone Calls, 9%
Patient Orders, 6%

Common food prep/dishwasher skills

Food Preparation Equipment, 17%
Work Ethic, 17%
Wash Dishes, 14%
Cleanliness, 10%
Food Service, 9%
Dishwashers, 8%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Dietary Worker
Dietary Worker vs Food Prep/Dishwasher

Updated January 8, 2025

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