Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between food clerks and associate food scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an associate food scientist has an average salary of $43,865, which is higher than the $29,967 average annual salary of a food clerk.
The top three skills for a food clerk include wine, basic math and customer service. The most important skills for an associate food scientist are quality food, food products, and customer service.
| Food Clerk | Associate Food Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $29,967 | $43,865 |
| Hourly rate | $14.41 | $21.09 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 113,838 | 160,215 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 37 | 23 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Food clerks are skilled employees who work either in grocery stores or supermarkets to assist customers with their food needs. In grocery stores, food clerks are required to scan food items for their customers and process their purchases as well as ensure that they have found everything they needed. They must assist in the store's inventory management by organizing and storing food merchandise in the backroom. Food clerks must also use their product knowledge to assist customers with questions and maintain customer satisfaction.
An associate food scientist is primarily responsible for developing new recipes for a company, ensuring quality and marketability. They are also responsible for improving existing recipes, performing support tasks for a head scientist, conducting market research and analysis, monitoring the progress of projects, and maintaining all recipes' data and records, including nutrition value and ingredients. Furthermore, there are instances when an associate food scientist must manage the packaging and storing processes of food, ensuring consumers' health and safety.
Food clerks and associate food scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Food Clerk | Associate Food Scientist | |
| Average salary | $29,967 | $43,865 |
| Salary range | Between $14,000 And $63,000 | Between $35,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | ShopRite | Emory University |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a food clerk and an associate food scientist in terms of educational background:
| Food Clerk | Associate Food Scientist | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between food clerks' and associate food scientists' demographics:
| Food Clerk | Associate Food Scientist | |
| Average age | 37 | 23 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.6% Female, 47.4% | Male, 48.7% Female, 51.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 7.7% White, 54.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | 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 Percentage | 6% | 8% |