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The differences between food service workers and associate food scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an associate food scientist has an average salary of $43,865, which is higher than the $28,753 average annual salary of a food service worker.
The top three skills for a food service worker include food handling, safety standards and customer service. The most important skills for an associate food scientist are quality food, food products, and customer service.
| Food Service Worker | Associate Food Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $28,753 | $43,865 |
| Hourly rate | $13.82 | $21.09 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 169,323 | 160,215 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 37 | 23 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
An associate food scientist is primarily responsible for developing new recipes for a company, ensuring quality and marketability. They are also responsible for improving existing recipes, performing support tasks for a head scientist, conducting market research and analysis, monitoring the progress of projects, and maintaining all recipes' data and records, including nutrition value and ingredients. Furthermore, there are instances when an associate food scientist must manage the packaging and storing processes of food, ensuring consumers' health and safety.
Food service workers and associate food scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Food Service Worker | Associate Food Scientist | |
| Average salary | $28,753 | $43,865 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $36,000 | Between $35,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Emory University |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a food service worker and an associate food scientist in terms of educational background:
| Food Service Worker | Associate Food Scientist | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between food service workers' and associate food scientists' demographics:
| Food Service Worker | Associate Food Scientist | |
| Average age | 37 | 23 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.6% Female, 63.4% | Male, 48.7% Female, 51.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 8% |