First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
Hospitality and TourismO*NET 35-1012.00United States
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in preparing and serving food.
- Median annual earnings
- $43,963
- Projected change
- +9%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 1.24M jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
96.7% of the workforce
Growing to 1.35M by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
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The work
What first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- 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.
- Observe and evaluate workers and work procedures to ensure quality standards and service, and complete disciplinary write-ups.
- Control inventories of food, equipment, smallware, and liquor, and report shortages to designated personnel.
- Specify food portions and courses, production and time sequences, and workstation and equipment arrangements.
- Recommend measures for improving work procedures and worker performance to increase service quality and enhance job safety.
- Analyze operational problems, such as theft and wastage, and establish procedures to alleviate these problems.
- Inspect supplies, equipment, and work areas to ensure efficient service and conformance to standards.
- Greet and seat guests, and present menus and wine lists.
- Evaluate new products for usefulness and suitability.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $29,647
- 25th percentile
- $35,746
- 50th percentile
- $43,963
- 75th percentile
- $54,628
- 90th percentile
- $66,167
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $43,963 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+9%faster than average
20251,242,530 jobs
2035 projected1,353,783 jobs
111,253 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 96.7%
- Certificate
- 1.9%
- Some college
- 1.4%
- Associate degree
- 0.1%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Shift Leaders34,193 postings
- 02Shift Supervisors7,468 postings
- 03Team Leads6,139 postings
- 04Service Leaders4,256 postings
- 05Restaurant Shift Leaders3,922 postings
- 06Food Service Directors3,602 postings
- 07Restaurant Supervisors3,303 postings
- 08Food Service Supervisors3,201 postings
- 09Food and Beverage Supervisors2,667 postings
- 10Directors of Food and Beverage2,198 postings
- 11Directors of Dining Services1,873 postings
- 12Assistant Managers1,829 postings
- 13Shift Coordinators1,671 postings
- 14Kitchen Supervisors1,623 postings
- 15Supervisors1,573 postings
- 16Meat Supervisors1,318 postings
- 17Area Coaches1,223 postings
- 18Restaurant Leaders1,213 postings
- 19Food Supervisors1,049 postings
- 20Food Unit Leads986 postings
Top employers
- 01Taco Bell6,830 postings
- 02Chipotle4,317 postings
- 03Compass Group3,231 postings
- 04Pizza Hut2,980 postings
- 05Dunkin' Donuts2,442 postings
- 06Papa John's2,376 postings
- 07Walmart2,289 postings
- 08Panda Express1,887 postings
- 09Aramark1,876 postings
- 10Burger King1,461 postings
- 11Sodexo1,414 postings
- 12Raising Cane's1,260 postings
- 13Healthcare Services Group1,254 postings
- 14Panera Bread1,191 postings
- 15Kentucky Fried Chicken1,091 postings
- 16H-E-B1,015 postings
- 17Chick-fil-A880 postings
- 18Coffee And Bagel Brands873 postings
- 19Whataburger Restaurants870 postings
- 20Domino's Pizza851 postings
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