Career Explorer Food and hospitality
Human edge, steady
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.
In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 42% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +0.6% by 2035, slower than average.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $30,890
- Job growth to 2035
- +0.6%
- Openings a year
- 86,400
- People doing it (2025)
- 640,000
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Prepare foods or beverages
- Purchase goods or services
- Execute financial transactions
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas
- Provide food or beverage services
- Stock supplies or products
What the work looks like
- Read food order slips or receive verbal instructions as to food required by patron, and prepare and cook food according to instructions.
- Maintain sanitation, health, and safety standards in work areas.
- Clean food preparation areas, cooking surfaces, and utensils.
- Operate large-volume cooking equipment, such as grills, deep-fat fryers, or griddles.
- Take food and drink orders and receive payment from customers.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as restaurants hire fast food and counter workers instead of fast food cooks.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Fast food and counter workersHuman edge, growing, Index 79, +5.8%
- Packers and packagers, handHuman edge, steady, Index 51, -5.0%
- DishwashersHuman edge, steady, Index 64, -1.0%
- Maids and housekeeping cleanersHuman edge, steady, Index 69, +0.6%
Also known as: Cook, Grill Cook, Line Cook, Pizza Cook, Cook Line Worker, Fast Food Cook, Food Cook, Fry Cook.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.