# Cooks, Fast Food

> Prepare and cook food in a fast food restaurant with a limited menu. Duties of these cooks are limited to preparation of a few basic items and normally involve operating large-volume single-purpose cooking equipment.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/cooks-fast-food
- SOC code: 35-2011.00
- Career family: Food service
- Median annual pay: $30,890 (10th percentile $22,580, 90th percentile $42,910)
- Projected growth: Little or no change, +0.6%
- Openings a year: 86,400
- Typical entry education: No formal credential
- Bright outlook: yes
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code RCE)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 89 |
| Investigative (I) | 6 |
| Artistic (A) | 14 |
| Social (S) | 24 |
| Enterprising (E) | 39 |
| Conventional (C) | 55 |

## What you'd do

- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 71/100)
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings (importance 70/100)
- Getting Information (importance 69/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 65/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 65/100)
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials (importance 62/100)
- Handling and Moving Objects (importance 61/100)
- Processing Information (importance 61/100)
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards (importance 59/100)
- Performing General Physical Activities (importance 56/100)

## Skills

Service Orientation, Active Listening, Speaking, Coordination, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Social Perceptiveness, Time Management, Judgment and Decision Making

## Knowledge

Food Production, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Production and Processing, Administration and Management, Mathematics, Personnel and Human Resources, Transportation, Education and Training, Public Safety and Security

## Also called

Cook, Cook Line Worker, Fast Food Cook, Fast Food Fry Cook, Fast Food Worker, Food Cook, Food Service Cook, Fry Cook, Fryer, Fryline Attendant

## Related careers

- [Cooks, Short Order](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/cooks-short-order): $35,880 median pay
- [Cooks, Restaurant](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/cooks-restaurant): $37,390 median pay
- [Food Preparation Workers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/food-preparation-workers): $35,320 median pay
- [Bakers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/bakers): $37,160 median pay
- [Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/cooks-institution-and-cafeteria): $37,450 median pay
- [Fast Food and Counter Workers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/fast-food-and-counter-workers): $31,200 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.