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The differences between food service assistants and line cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a line cook has an average salary of $32,894, which is higher than the $29,354 average annual salary of a food service assistant.
The top three skills for a food service assistant include patients, customer service and food handling. The most important skills for a line cook are culinary, sanitation standards, and food handling.
| Food Service Assistant | Line Cook | |
| Yearly salary | $29,354 | $32,894 |
| Hourly rate | $14.11 | $15.81 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 149,665 | 168,993 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Average age | 37 | 38 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
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.
Line cooks are responsible for preparing meals for guests or employers. The term line cook brings to mind an assembly line. This is apt because line cooks are usually assigned to a specific station to work on a specific part of a meal or a preparation process. They are part of a bigger group of cooks in the restaurant. This is done so that meal preparation is more efficient. Line cooks are responsible for preparing ingredients, ensuring that the pantry is well-stocked, and doing their assigned activity in the line. They are expected to be good team players, have experience as a cook, and be able to follow recipes and provide alternatives when necessary.
Food service assistants and line cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Food Service Assistant | Line Cook | |
| Average salary | $29,354 | $32,894 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $36,000 | Between $26,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | Springfield, MA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Fremont Public Schools | Gate City Bank |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a food service assistant and a line cook in terms of educational background:
| Food Service Assistant | Line Cook | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Most common major | Business | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between food service assistants' and line cooks' demographics:
| Food Service Assistant | Line Cook | |
| Average age | 37 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.9% Female, 64.1% | Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9% |
| 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, 9.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.9% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |