How To Become A Short Order Cook: What It Is and Career Path

What is a short order cook and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A short-order cook has the job of cooking foods in cafes and cafeterias. A lot of time, you will have to grill eggs, cook fries, and make sandwiches. As a short-order cook, you will work together with cooks in the foodservice business. Your style of cooking must be fast, effortless, and elementary. You must also strategize and take care of work requests, thereby making sure that all requests are thorough and dished out early enough. You will also be responsible for cleaning the dishes, kitchenware, and all other utensils either by using the dishwasher or using a manual approach. Furthermore, you need to ensure that the trading sectors, smoke-filled rooms, and refrigerators are neat.

To qualify for this role, the most common degree to have is a high school diploma. However, an associate degree can be used as a second option. Along with this, you must demonstrate excellent communication and organizational skills. You should exhibit an outstanding sense of perception and be able to sometimes apply a manual approach to cooking. A short-order cook earns $25,326 as an average annual salary or $12.18 per hour.

ScoreShort Order CookUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $30,734

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.2

Growth rate 16%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.10%

Asian 8.06%

Black or African American 10.26%

Hispanic or Latino 14.74%

Unknown 4.65%

White 61.18%

Gender

female 34.94%

male 65.06%

Age - 37

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 - 37

Stress level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.3

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.4

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a short order cook

Explore short order cook education requirements

Most common short order cook degrees

High School Diploma

42.6 %

Associate

20.9 %

Bachelor's

19.6 %

Start to develop specific short order cook skills

Skills	Percentages
Food Handling	20.39%
Customer Service	14.07%
Food Preparation Equipment	11.17%
Kitchen Equipment	9.17%
Food Service	7.31%

Complete relevant short order cook training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New short order cooks 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 short order cook based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real short order cook resumes.

Gain additional short order cook certifications

Short order cook certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific short order cook certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for short order cooks include OSHA Safety Certificate and ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification.

More About Certifications

Research short order cook duties and responsibilities

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Ensure that ovens and stoves remain at appropriate temperatures.
Clean kitchen including wiping down grills, slicers and deep-frying equipment.
Develop teamwork skills with cooks, dishwashers and wait staff, through efficient clean up and preparation of food.

Prepare your short order cook resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your short order cook resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a short order cook resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable short order cook resume templates

Build a professional short order cook resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your short order cook resume.