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The differences between food service technicians and food technologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food technologist has an average salary of $62,229, which is higher than the $33,791 average annual salary of a food service technician.
The top three skills for a food service technician include patients, tray line and food handling. The most important skills for a food technologist are food safety, food preparation, and regulatory compliance.
| Food Service Technician | Food Technologist | |
| Yearly salary | $33,791 | $62,229 |
| Hourly rate | $16.25 | $29.92 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 120,800 | 103,677 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Average age | 23 | 40 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
A food technician monitors what goes in and out of a kitchen. The role entails ensuring that whatever food leaves the kitchen meets the company's standard. The role also requires them to work closely with the food service team to ensure adequate preparation, cleaning, and sanitizing of cooking equipment and work area. Food technicians are employed at hotels, restaurants, hospitals, or schools.
A food technologist is responsible for developing safe and healthy food products, managing convenient food manufacturing processes, and ensuring that the procedures adhere to internal guidelines and state regulations. Food technologists identify ways to improve food preservation methods, as well as strategizing in consumer-friendly packaging and distribution processes. They also research the current food trends and technology advancements according to public demands that would generate more revenue resources and increase the business' profits. A food technologist studies the product's reviews and analyzes techniques for more efficient product preparation.
Food service technicians and food technologists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Food Service Technician | Food Technologist | |
| Average salary | $33,791 | $62,229 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $45,000 | Between $39,000 And $98,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Clara, CA | Chicago, IL |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Gillette | LexisNexis Reed Tech |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a food service technician and a food technologist in terms of educational background:
| Food Service Technician | Food Technologist | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Business | Food Science |
| Most common college | - | Cornell University |
Here are the differences between food service technicians' and food technologists' demographics:
| Food Service Technician | Food Technologist | |
| Average age | 23 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.7% Female, 57.3% | Male, 45.1% Female, 54.9% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 2.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 12.0% White, 72.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 19% |