Chef: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
10% of chefs earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $37,900
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of chefs earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $48,440
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of chefs earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $62,470
- Hourly
- $30.03
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of chefs earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $78,750
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of chefs earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $98,560
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Chefs direct and may participate in the preparation, seasoning, and cooking of salads, soups, fish, meats, vegetables, desserts, or other foods. The median pay is $62,470 a year ($30.03 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is an associate's degree (54% of workers surveyed by O*NET).
- Median pay
- $62,470
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 200,040
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- medium preparation
- Most common education
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree
- 54% of workers
Data Government data groups this job as Chefs and Head Cooks (O*NET-SOC 35-1011.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.
Every page for Chefs
Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.
Open →How to becomeChef how to becomeEducation, training and the skills to build first.
Open →ResumeChef resumeKeywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.
Open →Interview questionsChef interview questionsQuestions with what they test, plus practice mode.
Open →Free toolCheck your resumeParsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.
Open →What chefs do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations.
- Instruct cooks or other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, or presentation of food.
- Supervise or coordinate activities of cooks or workers engaged in food preparation.
- Order or requisition food or other supplies needed to ensure efficient operation.
- Inspect supplies, equipment, or work areas to ensure conformance to established standards.
- Check the quantity and quality of received products.
- Check the quality of raw or cooked food products to ensure that standards are met.
- Estimate amounts and costs of required supplies, such as food and ingredients.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Food Production, Production and Processing, Customer and Personal Service, Personnel and Human Resources, Administration and Management, Mathematics.
Software chefs use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
- ADP eTIMETime accounting software
- Axxya Systems Nutritionist ProAnalytical or scientific software
- Delphi TechnologyFinancial analysis software
- Enggist & Grandjean EGS F&B ControlMaterials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
- GNOME GnutritionAnalytical or scientific software
- IPro Restaurant Inventory, Recipe & Menu SoftwareAnalytical or scientific software
- Nutrition analysis softwareAnalytical or scientific software
- SoftCafe MenuProDesktop publishing software
- Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareIn demand
- Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareIn demand
- Microsoft OutlookElectronic mail softwareIn demand
Also called: Banquet Chef, Cook, Executive Chef (Ex Chef), Executive Pastry Chef, Executive Sous Chef.
Similar careers to explore
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).