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Food service assistant vs food service worker

The differences between food service assistants and food service 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 $28,753 average annual salary of a food service worker.

The top three skills for a food service assistant include patients, customer service and food handling. The most important skills for a food service worker are food handling, safety standards, and customer service.

Food service assistant vs food service worker overview

Food Service AssistantFood Service Worker
Yearly salary$29,354$28,753
Hourly rate$14.11$13.82
Growth rate2%2%
Number of jobs149,665169,323
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 33%High School Diploma, 44%
Average age3737
Years of experience--

What does a food service assistant do?

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.

What does a food service worker do?

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.

Food service assistant vs food service worker salary

Food service assistants and food service workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Food Service AssistantFood Service Worker
Average salary$29,354$28,753
Salary rangeBetween $23,000 And $36,000Between $22,000 And $36,000
Highest paying CitySpringfield, MAUrban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying stateMassachusettsHawaii
Best paying companyFremont Public SchoolsUniversity of California, Berkeley
Best paying industryRetailRetail

Differences between food service assistant and food service worker education

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

Food Service AssistantFood Service Worker
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 33%High School Diploma, 44%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Food service assistant vs food service worker demographics

Here are the differences between food service assistants' and food service workers' demographics:

Food Service AssistantFood Service Worker
Average age3737
Gender ratioMale, 35.9% Female, 64.1%Male, 36.6% Female, 63.4%
Race ratioBlack 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, 12.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 7.1% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between food service assistant and food service worker duties and responsibilities

Food service assistant example responsibilities.

  • Sanitize rooms per OSHA requirements.
  • Perform regular station audits in accordance to OSHA guidelines.
  • Experience includes bag room, mail/cargo, ramp, and De-icing.
  • Maintain cleanliness of kitchenware and food preparation areas in a fast-pace restaurant kitchen.
  • Streamline kitchen processes for this fast-pace environment, maintaining cleanliness and safe equipment operation.
  • Monitor radio and delivery system by annotating order tickets resulting in satisfy and hunger free patients.
  • Show more

Food service worker example responsibilities.

  • Volunteer at rehabilitation center/ nursing home escorting and communicating with the patients.
  • Learned how to do math quickly and efficiently.
  • Demonstrate money-handling and math skills in processing payments for orders.
  • Prepare all food stuffs, roasting meats, baking cookies, preparing salads.
  • Work in full compliance with values of compassion, dignity, excellence, integrity, and team work.
  • Install and maintain HVAC systems which include walkin coolers and freezers, reach-ins and pass thru and a/c systems
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Food service assistant vs food service worker skills

Common food service assistant skills
  • Patients, 12%
  • Customer Service, 12%
  • Food Handling, 9%
  • Basic Math, 8%
  • Kitchen Equipment, 7%
  • Safety Standards, 6%
Common food service worker skills
  • Food Handling, 22%
  • Safety Standards, 9%
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • Patients, 7%
  • Cash Control, 4%
  • Rehabilitation, 4%

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