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The differences between food service assistants and cafeteria workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food service assistant has an average salary of $29,354, which is higher than the $24,465 average annual salary of a cafeteria worker.
The top three skills for a food service assistant include patients, customer service and food handling. The most important skills for a cafeteria worker are food handling, kitchen equipment, and food preparation.
| Food Service Assistant | Cafeteria Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $29,354 | $24,465 |
| Hourly rate | $14.11 | $11.76 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 149,665 | 31,802 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | High School Diploma, 45% |
| Average age | 37 | 39 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
A cafeteria worker is responsible for taking and processing customer orders, ensuring the correct foods are served, providing them the satisfaction of their dining experience. Cafeteria workers maintain the cleanliness and orderliness of the facilities, manage the adequacy of inventory stock supplies, coordinate with suppliers for deliveries, process payments, and help out the customers with their inquiries and concerns. A cafeteria worker should also assist the management in developing marketing techniques to boost revenues and increase profitability.
Food service assistants and cafeteria workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Food Service Assistant | Cafeteria Worker | |
| Average salary | $29,354 | $24,465 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $36,000 | Between $18,000 And $32,000 |
| Highest paying City | Springfield, MA | Yuba City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Washington |
| Best paying company | Fremont Public Schools | Jefferson Elementary School District |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a food service assistant and a cafeteria worker in terms of educational background:
| Food Service Assistant | Cafeteria Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | High School Diploma, 45% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between food service assistants' and cafeteria workers' demographics:
| Food Service Assistant | Cafeteria Worker | |
| Average age | 37 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.9% Female, 64.1% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.5% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |