Food service
Cooks, fast food
Prepare and cook food in a fast food restaurant with a limited menu. Duties of these cooks are limited to preparation of a few basic items and normally involve operating large-volume single-purpose cooking equipment.
Median pay
$30,890
Growth to 2035
+1%
little or no change
Openings a year
86,400
Time to qualify*
1 month
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Cooks, fast food
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time standing
Cooks, fast food: 4% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Read food order slips or receive verbal instructions as to food required by patron, and prepare and cook food according to instructions.
- Maintain sanitation, health, and safety standards in work areas.
- Clean food preparation areas, cooking surfaces, and utensils.
- Operate large-volume cooking equipment, such as grills, deep-fat fryers, or griddles.
- Take food and drink orders and receive payment from customers.
- Cook the exact number of items ordered by each customer, working on several different orders simultaneously.
- Prepare specialty foods, such as pizzas, fish and chips, sandwiches, or tacos, following specific methods that usually require short preparation time.
- Verify that prepared food meets requirements for quality and quantity.
Also called: Cook · Cook Line Worker · Fast Food Cook · Food Cook · Fry Cook · Fryer · Grill Cook · Line Cook
Outlook and AI
Cooks, fast food held 640,500 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 644,100 by 2035 (+1%, little or no change; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
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