Food Preparation

Cooks, Institution & Cafeteria

SOC 35-2012

Cook in volume for schools, hospitals, and cafeterias.

Median pay

$37k

$32k to $45k typical range

Outlook

Growing

70k openings / yr

Education

No formal credential

AI exposure

modeled estimate · 21th pct in Microsoft's data

Future-proof

38/100

Key skills

Speaking
Monitoring
Active Listening
Critical Thinking
Reading Comprehension
Mathematics

Where this ranks

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Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2024-2034). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How we model AI exposure.