How To Become A Food Service Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a food service technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Working closely to the kitchen, a food service technician is mainly responsible for the monitoring of what goes in and out of the kitchen. They should make sure that the food being served meets the company's standard and ensure that the food is well and cleanly prepared.

A food service technician is often employed at restaurants, hotels, schools, or hospitals. A good food service technician should have great communication skills to relay their opinions and ideas clearly, good customer-service skills in order to meet the needs and wants of customers, and physical strength to be able to endure the work hours and lift or carry objects around.

With an average salary of $29,928 per year, being a food service technician does not require a bachelor's degree. A high school degree or GED will do. A food service technician can also become a general manager in the long run as they progress in their career.

ScoreFood Service TechnicianUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,791

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.0

Growth rate 14%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.85%

Asian 6.49%

Black or African American 9.64%

Hispanic or Latino 18.63%

Unknown 6.92%

White 57.47%

Gender

female 57.29%

male 42.71%

Age - 21

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 21

Stress level

7.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.8

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.7

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a food service technician

Explore food service technician education requirements

Most common food service technician degrees

High School Diploma

35.1 %

Bachelor's

24.4 %

Associate

22.3 %

Start to develop specific food service technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	26.59%
Tray Line	6.87%
Food Handling	6.73%
Kitchen Equipment	5.93%
Meal Service	5.79%

Complete relevant food service technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New food service technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a food service technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real food service technician resumes.

Research food service technician duties and responsibilities

Operate institutional slicers, shredders, food processors, and sealer machines.
Follow and maintain high sanitation standards and guidelines as per NFS, and HACCP.
Ensure proper hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) and ServSave protocols are adhered to.
Maintain facility cleanliness and security.

Prepare your food service technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your food service technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a food service technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable food service technician resume templates

Build a professional food service technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your food service technician resume.