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The differences between restaurant associates 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 $29,195 average annual salary of a restaurant associate.
The top three skills for a restaurant associate include food service, customer service and customer orders. The most important skills for an associate food scientist are quality food, food products, and customer service.
| Restaurant Associate | Associate Food Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $29,195 | $43,865 |
| Hourly rate | $14.04 | $21.09 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 64,419 | 160,215 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 37% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 37 | 23 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A restaurant associate is responsible for ensuring that the guests receive the highest satisfaction for their dining experience. Restaurant associates entertain and greet guests, assist the dining staff in processing orders, respond to inquiries and concerns, and escalate complaints to the supervisor. They also help management in identifying opportunities that would attract customers by researching current industry trends to develop additional services for generating more revenues. A restaurant associate monitors the stock inventory, create purchase requests, and negotiate with trusted suppliers.
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.
Restaurant associates and associate food scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Restaurant Associate | Associate Food Scientist | |
| Average salary | $29,195 | $43,865 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $37,000 | Between $35,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | - | Emory University |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a restaurant associate and an associate food scientist in terms of educational background:
| Restaurant Associate | Associate Food Scientist | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 37% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between restaurant associates' and associate food scientists' demographics:
| Restaurant Associate | Associate Food Scientist | |
| Average age | 37 | 23 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.2% Female, 50.8% | Male, 48.7% Female, 51.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 54.8% 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 | 10% | 8% |