How To Become A Lead Crew Member: What It Is and Career Path

What is a lead crew member and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Every morning you go for a walk on the streets or to jog at the park. You find the places so well maintained and preserved. Who does that for you? A crew, of course, but the team needs someone to lead them and supervise them. This is where lead crew members come into play. They command the crew from the front to ensure they perform their best and may also work in restaurants or an industry. When there is a crew, there is a lead crew member.

Their primary responsibility is to train the crew members to perform specific assigned tasks. They also monitor the crew's performance and note the areas of improvement. Ensuring the crew's safety, creating work schedules, maintaining equipment, and preparing reports is also part of their job. They may procure the necessary tools and look for new crew members, depending on the requirements.

To become a lead crew member, you must have what it takes to be a leader. Skills like good communication skills, dedication to achieving goals, and motivation to work hard are crucial. They receive approximately $12.41 an hour, which amounts to $25,816 a year.

ScoreLead Crew MemberUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $32,857

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 48.35%

male 51.65%

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

6.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.7

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a lead crew member

Explore lead crew member education requirements

Most common lead crew member degrees

Bachelor's

36.1 %

High School Diploma

34.0 %

Associate

14.6 %

Start to develop specific lead crew member skills

Skills	Percentages
Drive-Thru	12.68%
Customer Service	9.58%
Customer Orders	7.55%
Customer Satisfaction	5.85%
Customer Complaints	5.82%

Complete relevant lead crew member training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New lead crew members 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 lead crew member based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real lead crew member resumes.

Research lead crew member duties and responsibilities

Manage food preparation, maintain cleanliness and punctuality while effectively support customers in daily transactions with suggestive selling methods.
Demonstrate exceptional leadership and customer service skills while gaining solid understanding of retail operations and thorough knowledge of product line.
Maintain all database and POS systems to ensure they are up-to date.
Operate and maintain cooking equipment such as grills, deep fryers and griddles.

Get lead crew member experience

Apply for lead crew member jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a lead crew member job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do lead crew members rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Lead crew member reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019

Pros

Friendships, feeling accomplished, and training people.

Cons

Disorganized and very little room to improve.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019