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Food Service Manager

Academic programs / Undergraduate degrees / Career opportunities / Food Service Manager

Food Service Manager

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
Cafeteria Manager, Dietary Supervisor, Dining Services Director, Food and Beverage Director, Food and Nutrition Services Supervisor, Food Production Supervisor, Food Service Supervisor, Kitchen Manager, Kitchen Supervisor, Restaurant Manager

* Additional schooling, certification, or degrees maybe be required for some of the potential careers that are listed.
What will I do?
  • Resolve customer complaints regarding food service.
  • Train workers in food preparation, and in service, sanitation, and safety procedures.
  • Assign duties, responsibilities, and work stations to employees in accordance with work requirements.
  • Present bills and accept payments.
  • Perform various financial activities, such as cash handling, deposit preparation, and payroll.
  • Supervise and participate in kitchen and dining area cleaning activities.
  • Recommend measures for improving work procedures and worker performance to increase service quality and enhance job safety.
  • Specify food portions and courses, production and time sequences, and workstation and equipment arrangements.
  • Control inventories of food, equipment, smallware, and liquor, and report shortages to designated personnel.
  • Observe and evaluate workers and work procedures to ensure quality standards and service, and complete disciplinary write-ups.
  • In this career, it is important to know
    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    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.

    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.

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

    Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    It's useful to be good at
    Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

    Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.

    Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
    Employment trends
    Location Pay period 2025
    10% 25% Median% 75% 90%
    United States Hourly $14.40 $17.30 $21.19 $26.24 $31.52
    Yearly $29,940 $35,980 $44,080 $54,570 $65,570
    Arizona Hourly $17.04 $17.74 $19.49 $25.31 $30.65
    Yearly $35,440 $36,890 $40,550 $52,650 $63,750
    2025 Median%
    United States $21.19 Hourly $44,080 Yearly
    Arizona $19.49 Hourly $40,550 Yearly

    Employment (2024)
    1,215,000 employees
    Projected growth (2024 - 2034)
    Average (4% to 7%)
    Projected job openings (2024 - 2034)
    183,900
    * Data obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).

    Program term definitions

    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.

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