Every occupation the official NCES/BLS crosswalk connects to culinary arts programs, with BLS pay, the education each job usually needs, what the work involves, and where to go next.
Culinary Arts · CIP 12.05 series · 11 codes · 11 careers · Check one exact major, e.g. 12.0500 Cooking and Related Culinary Arts, General, in the major to career finder
The official NCES/BLS crosswalk maps culinary arts programs to 11 occupations that such programs typically prepare people for, including Chef, First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers and Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria. BLS median pay across them runs from $34,340 (Bartender) to $88,720 (Food Scientists and Technologists) in May 2025. The crosswalk describes preparation, not what graduates actually go on to do.
Data Program → related occupations: these are jobs culinary arts programs typically prepare people for (NCES/BLS crosswalk). Not a guaranteed outcome, and not a record of what graduates do.
Data Filter by the education the job usually needs or its preparation level; sort by pay or by number employed.
| Occupation | Most common education | Job Zone | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line Cook | $37,390 | 1,409,890 | High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 1-2 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | $44,080 | 1,223,240 | High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 1-2 |
| Bartender | $34,340 | 756,390 | High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 1-2 |
| Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria | $37,450 | 441,050 | High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 1-2 |
| Food Service Manager | $69,390 | 238,430 | High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 1-2 |
| Baker | $37,160 | 236,200 | n/a | 1-2 |
| Chef | $62,470 | 200,040 | Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 3 |
| Butchers and Meat Cutters | $40,140 | 136,430 | High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 1-2 |
| Slaughterers and Meat Packers | $40,130 | 69,950 | High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 1-2 |
| Food Scientists and Technologists | $88,720 | 13,060 | Bachelor's Degree | 4 |
| Cooks, Private Household | $47,940 | 1,100 | Post-Secondary Certificate | 3 |
No occupations match these filters.
Data The education column shows a typical entry level only where O*NET data supports one answer. Check the typical education for First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers, one of the culinary arts jobs above.
Data BLS national median annual wage, May 2025. These are pay levels of the occupations, not earnings of graduates.
Data The largest related occupations by employment (postsecondary teaching shown in the explorer).
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.
Coordination · Monitoring · Social Perceptiveness
Career guide Salary How to become
Mapped from CIP 12.0500, 12.0501Resolve customer complaints regarding food service.
Train workers in food preparation, and in service, sanitation, and safety procedures.
Management of Personnel Resources · Coordination · Speaking
Mapped from CIP 12.0500, 12.0503Monitor and record food temperatures to ensure food safety.
Cook foodstuffs according to menus, special dietary or nutritional restrictions, or numbers of portions to be served.
Service Orientation · Operations Monitoring · Quality Control Analysis
Mapped from CIP 12.0500, 12.0505Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.
Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment, work surfaces, and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling practices.
Time Management · Speaking · Critical Thinking
Mapped from CIP 12.0500, 12.0503Measure or weigh flour or other ingredients to prepare batters, doughs, fillings, or icings, using scales or graduated containers.
Set oven temperatures, and place items into hot ovens for baking.
Judgment and Decision Making · Time Management · Active Listening
Mapped from CIP 12.0501Clean glasses, utensils, and bar equipment.
Collect money for drinks served.
Active Listening · Service Orientation · Social Perceptiveness
Career guide Salary How to become
Mapped from CIP 12.0502Data Related occupations grouped by government career field, with their pay range.
Data A national median for federal-aid graduates of this field: a separate measure from the BLS job pay above.
See earnings by degree level, college spread and federal debt.
The NCES/BLS crosswalk relates instructional programs (CIP 2020) to occupations (SOC 2018) when programs in the CIP category typically prepare individuals directly for jobs in the occupation. This page uses the CIP program series below and shows every non-residual occupation mapped to them that has BLS wages and O*NET data; each occupation lists the CIP codes that map to it.
Searches this page answers include “what can you do with a culinary degree”, “what can i do with a culinary degree”, “culinary degree jobs” (Ahrefs, U.S.).
