Tray line worker vs food service assistant

The differences between tray line workers and food service assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food service assistant has an average salary of $29,354, which is higher than the $24,035 average annual salary of a tray line worker.

The top three skills for a tray line worker include tray line, patients and kitchen equipment. The most important skills for a food service assistant are patients, customer service, and food handling.

Tray line worker vs food service assistant overview

	Tray Line Worker	Food Service Assistant
Yearly salary	$24,035	$29,354
Hourly rate	$11.56	$14.11
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	76,868	149,665
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	-	-

Tray line worker vs food service assistant salary

Tray line workers and food service assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Tray Line Worker	Food Service Assistant
Average salary	$24,035	$29,354
Salary range	Between $18,000 And $31,000	Between $23,000 And $36,000
Highest paying City	-	Springfield, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Fremont Public Schools
Best paying industry	-	Retail

Differences between tray line worker and food service assistant education

There are a few differences between a tray line worker and a food service assistant in terms of educational background:

	Tray Line Worker	Food Service Assistant
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Tray line worker vs food service assistant demographics

Here are the differences between tray line workers' and food service assistants' demographics:

	Tray Line Worker	Food Service Assistant
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 37.1% Female, 62.9%	Male, 35.9% Female, 64.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 5.8% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 8.7% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between tray line worker and food service assistant duties and responsibilities

Tray line worker example responsibilities.

Prepare and go out to different homes, on campus, to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, to patients
Assist with planning and directing food preparation and culinary activities along with safely handling and storing all products appropriately.
Provide culinary and kitchen maintenance skills for both non-profit organization and private residence.

Food service assistant example responsibilities.

Sanitize rooms per OSHA requirements.
Perform regular station audits in accordance to OSHA guidelines.
Experience includes bag room, mail/cargo, ramp, and De-icing.
Maintain cleanliness of kitchenware and food preparation areas in a fast-pace restaurant kitchen.
Streamline kitchen processes for this fast-pace environment, maintaining cleanliness and safe equipment operation.
Monitor radio and delivery system by annotating order tickets resulting in satisfy and hunger free patients.

Tray line worker vs food service assistant skills

Common tray line worker skills

Tray Line, 30%
Patients, 30%
Kitchen Equipment, 11%
Food Trays, 8%
Production Orders, 6%
Assembly Line, 5%

Common food service assistant skills

Patients, 12%
Customer Service, 12%
Food Handling, 9%
Basic Math, 8%
Kitchen Equipment, 7%
Safety Standards, 6%

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Tray Line Worker vs Food Service Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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