A food service career offers a rare combination of variety, creativity, and the satisfaction of hands-on accomplishment. Chefs use skill and imagination to prepare everything from delicate pastries to entire meals. Food and beverage managers focus on the bigger picture, overseeing day-to-day operations to ensure excellent customer dining experiences and business profitability.
Overall, food service is the second-largest employer in the United States, and career prospects are expected to be good, especially in fast-growing resort and vacation destinations. By 2022, food service is expected to add the highest number of jobs among all industries.
Salaries for food service professionals can vary widely. Those with specialized training and skills consistently make far more than average, and salaries for executive chefs and other specialists are at the high end.
