Report an accessibility problem

Chef

Academic programs / Undergraduate degrees / Career opportunities / Chef

Chef

Explore employment trends, required job duties and skills for this career. ASU offers a variety of degrees that can help you prepare for and meet your career goals. Visit ASU's Career and Professional Development Services to learn how to develop your career plan.

Potential job titles in this career
Banquet Chef, Chef, Cook, Executive Chef (Ex Chef), Executive Pastry Chef, Executive Sous Chef, Food and Beverage Director, Head Cook, Kitchen Manager, Sous Chef

* Additional schooling, certification, or degrees maybe be required for some of the potential careers that are listed.
What will I do?
  • 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.
  • Coordinate planning, budgeting, or purchasing for all the food operations within establishments such as clubs, hotels, or restaurant chains.
  • Analyze recipes to assign prices to menu items, based on food, labor, and overhead costs.
  • In this career, it is important to know
    Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    It's useful to be good at
    Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

    Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

    Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

    Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

    Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

    Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

    Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

    Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

    Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

    Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
    Employment trends
    Location Pay period 2025
    10% 25% Median% 75% 90%
    United States Hourly $18.22 $23.29 $30.03 $37.86 $47.39
    Yearly $37,900 $48,440 $62,470 $78,750 $98,560
    Arizona Hourly $16.33 $18.50 $28.79 $36.05 $45.79
    Yearly $33,970 $38,480 $59,890 $74,990 $95,240
    2025 Median%
    United States $30.03 Hourly $62,470 Yearly
    Arizona $28.79 Hourly $59,890 Yearly

    Employment (2025)
    220,300 employees
    Projected growth (2025 - 2035)
    Average (4% to 7%)
    Projected job openings (2025 - 2035)
    25,200
    * Data obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).

    Frequently asked questions about degree programs

    Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.

    Accelerated master's

    These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).

    Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master's during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.

    Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.

    Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.

    ASU adds new programs to Degree Search frequently. Come back often and look for the "New Programs" option.

    ASU Online offers programs in an entirely online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. See https://asuonline.asu.edu/ for more information.

    click back to top