Restaurant Associate Education Requirements And Courses

Restaurant associate education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Usually, restaurant associates don't need a college education. The most common degree for restaurant associates is high school diploma with 37% graduates, with only 31% restaurant associate graduates earning bachelor's degree. Restaurant associates who decided to graduate from college often finish Monroe College or Central State University. Some good skills to have in this position include food service, customer service and customer orders.

What education do you need to become a restaurant associate?

What degree do you need to be a restaurant associate?

The most common degree for restaurant associates is high school diploma, with 37% of restaurant associates earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are bachelor's degree degree at 31% and bachelor's degree degree at 18%.

High School Diploma, 37%

Bachelor's, 31%

Associate, 18%

Diploma, 8%

Other Degrees, 6%

What should I major in to become a restaurant associate?

You should major in business to become a restaurant associate. 15% of restaurant associates major in business. Other common majors for a restaurant associate include psychology and general studies.

Business, 15%

Psychology, 9%

General Studies, 7%

Criminal Justice, 7%

Other Majors, 62%

Best majors for restaurant associates

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	15.4%
2	Psychology	8.9%
3	General Studies	7.2%
4	Criminal Justice	6.6%
5	Liberal Arts	5.9%

Show more common restaurant associate majors

20 best online courses for restaurant associates

Advertising disclosure

1. ISO 22000:2018. Food Safety Management System

4.4

(976)

Understand the requirements for a food safety management system applicable for any organization in the food chain...

2. OSHA Workplace Safety (General Industry 6 Hr Class)

4.5

(2,583)

Learn the requirements and standards associated with OSHA and workplace safety. Safety best practices for the workplace...

3. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

4.3

(465)

Let's get to grips with understanding the IFRS standards...

4. Customer Service & Support For Customer Service Executives

4.5

(941)

Learn Customer Service Skills & Provide Excellent Customer Support, Customer Experience & How To Manage Upset Customers...

5. Food Safety for Managers and Supervisors

4.3

(489)

The Highfield Food Safety Level 3 syllabus presented in two hours of video tutorials. Boost your food safety knowledge...

6. SAP PI / SAP PO: Interface Development with Standard Adapter

4.6

(1,185)

Step by Step Course that shows how to Build Interface with SAP PI / SAP Process Orchestration (SAP PO) Standard Adapter...

7. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer

4.7

(18,204)

Master Customer Service using this practical customer care course...

8. Sustainability Reporting with GRI Standards

4.3

(694)

GRI Sustainability Reporting - Understanding the Standards...

9. Fun food safety and sanitation course

4.6

(539)

The food safety course will help prepare you for safely working in a kitchen and food handler tests like Servesafe...

10. Customer Service, Customer Support, And Customer Experience

4.6

(2,666)

Customer service, customer support, and customer experience training. Loyal clients through world-class customer service...

11. Customer Service: 6 Keys To Exceptional Customer Service

4.6

(601)

Master Customer Satisfaction & Astonish Your Customers With A+ Customer Service...

12. OSHA Safety Pro: Deadly Concrete Dust. Crystalline Silica.

4.4

(478)

OSHA's General, Construction, and Maritime Industries Hazard Prevention and Safety Standard...

13. Complete Health and Safety Auditor Course. OHSAS 18001.

4.5

(2,235)

How to implement and audit a health & safety management system and obtain certification to OHSAS 18001 Standard...

14. Fundamentals of Logistics, Supply Chain & Customer Service

4.5

(3,822)

Learn Logistics, Supply Chain and Customer Service. 3 Courses in 1...

15. Customer Service

4.6

(11,267)

How to Approach New Customers and Maintain Existing Ones...

16. Brilliant Customer Service: How to Impress your Customers!

4.7

(12,891)

Enhance your customer support and truly differentiate yourself from your competition!...

17. SAP ABAP: Enhancement & Modification to SAP Standard

4.3

(1,267)

Data Dictionary Enhancement, Function Module exit , Menu exit , Screen exit , BADI , BTE and User Exit...

18. Customer Service Success: Take Your Skills to the Next Level

4.5

(2,276)

3-in-1 Customer Service Training: Levels 1, 2, 3 Improve Your Soft Communication Skills, Customer Support & Experience...

19. PCI (Payment Card) Standards for Corporate Professionals

4.5

(804)

This course covers relevant aspects of the PCI Data Security Standard for processing credit card data...

20. [2023] Customer Service 2.0: Learn Digital Customer Service

4.5

(3,956)

Used by Chase®, Intel®, & more! Learn soft skills, social media customer service, diagnosing user problems, & more...

Average restaurant associate salary by education level

Restaurant associates with a Associate degree earn more than those without, at $32,119 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, restaurant associates earn a median annual income of $31,997 compared to $29,781 for restaurant associates with an High School Diploma degree.

Restaurant associate education level	Restaurant associate salary
High School Diploma or Less	$29,781
Bachelor's Degree	$31,997
Some College/ Associate Degree	$32,119