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Fast food worker vs food service/cashier

The differences between fast food workers and food service/cashiers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food service/cashier has an average salary of $28,481, which is higher than the $24,860 average annual salary of a fast food worker.

The top three skills for a fast food worker include food handling, basic math and drive-thru. The most important skills for a food service/cashier are food service, POS, and cleanliness.

Fast food worker vs food service/cashier overview

Fast Food WorkerFood Service/Cashier
Yearly salary$24,860$28,481
Hourly rate$11.95$13.69
Growth rate14%14%
Number of jobs156,271247,779
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 63%High School Diploma, 48%
Average age2323
Years of experience--

Fast food worker vs food service/cashier salary

Fast food workers and food service/cashiers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Fast Food WorkerFood Service/Cashier
Average salary$24,860$28,481
Salary rangeBetween $12,000 And $51,000Between $22,000 And $35,000
Highest paying CityFranklin Square, NYMontclair, NJ
Highest paying stateNew HampshireNew Hampshire
Best paying companyUC MercedAspen School District
Best paying industryHospitalityRetail

Differences between fast food worker and food service/cashier education

There are a few differences between a fast food worker and a food service/cashier in terms of educational background:

Fast Food WorkerFood Service/Cashier
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 63%High School Diploma, 48%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Fast food worker vs food service/cashier demographics

Here are the differences between fast food workers' and food service/cashiers' demographics:

Fast Food WorkerFood Service/Cashier
Average age2323
Gender ratioMale, 47.0% Female, 53.0%Male, 28.3% Female, 71.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between fast food worker and food service/cashier duties and responsibilities

Fast food worker example responsibilities.

  • Operate ovens, deep fryers, grills, cash registers, and other appliances.
  • Operate large-volume cooking equipment such as grills, deep-fat fryers, conventional and microwave ovens.
  • Experience at POS, always give customer satisfaction and very persuasive with sales.
  • Landscape public parks utilizing a variety of heavy machinery including weed whackers, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and trimmers.
  • Cook foods by baking, roasting, broiling, frying, steaming and grilling.
  • Brew coffee and tea, and fill containers with request beverages.

Food service/cashier example responsibilities.

  • Cashier, serve food, manage calls, drawer counting, heavy lifting, heavy use of POS system and filing.
  • Greet guests, take food and drink orders, prepare and assemble food items, maintain the cash drawer and POS system
  • Time management while delivering patients orders and providing exceptional customer service in a fast pace environment.
  • Order and receive supplies for culinary needs of the fleet.
  • Maintain food safety and quality by applying HACCP principles throughout service.
  • Load and unload commercial dishwashers.
  • Show more

Fast food worker vs food service/cashier skills

Common fast food worker skills
  • Food Handling, 28%
  • Basic Math, 17%
  • Drive-Thru, 9%
  • Safety Standards, 4%
  • Customer Service, 4%
  • Drink Orders, 4%
Common food service/cashier skills
  • Food Service, 17%
  • POS, 13%
  • Cleanliness, 9%
  • Basic Math, 8%
  • Math, 7%
  • Customer Complaints, 7%

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