Chefs and head cooks
Chefs and head cooks turn specialized knowledge, procedures, and judgment into practical decisions or services. In the U.S. BLS reference layer, this asset maps to Chefs and head cooks with 2024 employment of 197.3k and a 2024 median annual wage of $60,990. FermatMind treats this path as a Enterprising-first career: the question is whether you can sustain physical pace, service pressure, hygiene standards, and schedule variation over time.
Fermat Quick Fit
Fit signal
- Chefs and head cooks turn specialized knowledge, procedures, and judgment into practical decisions or services. In the U.S. BLS reference layer, this asset maps to Chefs and head cooks with 2024 employment of 197.3k and a 2024 median annual wage of $60,990. FermatMind treats this path as a Enterprising-first career: the question is whether you can sustain physical pace, service pressure, hygiene standards, and schedule variation over time.
Boundary
- This page is for career exploration. It is not an income forecast, licensing guarantee, job-placement promise, medical/legal advice, or psychological diagnosis.
Career Snapshot: U.S. BLS Reference
This snapshot uses the BLS 2024–2034 Occupational Projections and Worker Characteristics table as the U.S. labor-market fact layer. O*NET is used for definitions, tasks, and work-style interpretation where a data-level occupation exists.
| Occupation | Chefs and head cooks |
| BLS/SOC title | Chefs and head cooks |
| SOC code | 35-1011 |
| O*NET code | 35-1011.00 |
| U.S. jobs in 2024 | 197.3k |
| Projected U.S. jobs in 2034 | 211.3k |
| 2024–2034 change | +14.0k |
| Projected growth | 7.1% |
| Annual openings | 24.4k |
| Median annual wage, 2024 | $60,990 |
| Entry education | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Work experience | 5 years or more |
| On-the-job training | None |
Occupation
Chefs and head cooks
BLS/SOC title
Chefs and head cooks
SOC code
35-1011
O*NET code
35-1011.00
U.S. jobs in 2024
197.3k
Projected U.S. jobs in 2034
211.3k
2024–2034 change
+14.0k
Projected growth
7.1%
Annual openings
24.4k
Median annual wage, 2024
$60,990
Entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Work experience
5 years or more
On-the-job training
None
Secondary Locale Reference
中国大陆暂无全国统一的主厨与厨师长单职业官方中位薪资；国家统计局行业数据和招聘平台样本只能作为行业/岗位信号，不能理解为个人薪资预测。
| Salary data type | industry_proxy_or_job_posting_signal |
Salary data type
industry_proxy_or_job_posting_signal
How to Decide Whether This Career Fits You
RIASEC Fit
Enterprising-primary means the work repeatedly rewards this core problem-solving and work-environment preference in Chefs and head cooks.
Realistic-secondary matters because the role often requires procedures, tools, coordination, evidence, clients, users, patients, learners, or teams.
Conventional-support supports the role when decisions must be explained, delivered, documented, practiced, maintained, or coordinated.
This is a career-fit interpretation, not a destiny judgment or a guaranteed match score.
- Enterprising-primary
- Realistic-secondary
- Conventional-support
Personality Fit
This is not a personality diagnosis. It is a work-style interpretation that should be cross-checked with actual tasks, credentials, workplace setting, and risk tolerance.
Chefs and head cooks may fit people whose personality style supports sustained attention, feedback tolerance, and the daily work context behind the title.
- Conscientiousness helps with deadlines, documentation, safety, and follow-through.
- Openness helps when the role requires learning, interpretation, problem framing, or adaptation.
- Extraversion may help in client, public, team, teaching, service, or leadership settings, but it is not always required.
- Emotional stability matters when feedback, uncertainty, conflict, risk, or operational pressure is high.
What Does This Career Do?
Direct and may participate in the preparation, seasoning, and cooking of salads, soups, fish, meats, vegetables, desserts, or other foods. May plan and price menu items, order supplies, and keep records and accounts. The official fact boundary for this FermatMind career asset is SOC 35-1011 and O*NET 35-1011.00. That boundary separates occupational facts from informal job titles, local market examples, and editorial interpretation. In practice, Chefs and head cooks requires people to understand the work context, follow relevant standards, coordinate with stakeholders, document or communicate results, and manage the quality and risk of their decisions. FermatMind treats this role as a work-structure decision: the key question is not whether the title sounds attractive, but whether you can sustain the daily tasks, feedback loops, training requirements, and risk boundaries described in this page.
Core Responsibilities
- Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations.
- Instruct cooks or other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, or presentation of food.
- Supervise or coordinate activities of cooks or workers engaged in food preparation.
- Order or requisition food or other supplies needed to ensure efficient operation.
- Inspect supplies, equipment, or work areas to ensure conformance to established standards.
- Check the quantity and quality of received products.
Work Context
| Search intent | career_exploration |
| Search intent | career_fit |
| Search intent | salary_and_outlook |
| Search intent | how_to_evaluate_fit |
| Search intent | career_risk |
Search intent
career_exploration
Search intent
career_fit
Search intent
salary_and_outlook
Search intent
how_to_evaluate_fit
Search intent
career_risk
- Chefs and head cooks career
- Chefs and head cooks salary
- Chefs and head cooks job outlook
- how to become chefs and head cooks
- Chefs and head cooks personality fit
What Skills Does the Market Signal?
- Occupation
- Chefs and head cooks
- BLS/SOC title
- Chefs and head cooks
- SOC code
- 35-1011
- O*NET code
- 35-1011.00
- U.S. jobs in 2024
- 197.3k
- Projected U.S. jobs in 2034
- 211.3k
- 2024–2034 change
- +14.0k
- Projected growth
- 7.1%
- Annual openings
- 24.4k
- Median annual wage, 2024
- $60,990
- Entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Work experience
- 5 years or more
- On-the-job training
- None
This snapshot uses the BLS 2024–2034 Occupational Projections and Worker Characteristics table as the U.S. labor-market fact layer. O*NET is used for definitions, tasks, and work-style interpretation where a data-level occupation exists.
Adjacent Career Comparison
| Front-line role vs Supervisor | Front-line roles deliver service directly; supervisors coordinate people and incidents. | People who prefer direct contact |
| Service vs Safety role | Service roles emphasize experience; safety roles emphasize rule enforcement and emergencies. | People who can balance both |
| Operations vs Sales | Operations keeps service running; sales focuses on persuasion and revenue. | People who prefer execution |
Front-line role vs Supervisor
Front-line roles deliver service directly; supervisors coordinate people and incidents.
People who prefer direct contact
Service vs Safety role
Service roles emphasize experience; safety roles emphasize rule enforcement and emergencies.
People who can balance both
Operations vs Sales
Operations keeps service running; sales focuses on persuasion and revenue.
People who prefer execution
Will AI Replace This Career?
5/10
FermatMind internal AI exposure rubric
Career Risks
- This page is for career exploration. It is not an income forecast, licensing guarantee, job-placement promise, medical/legal advice, or psychological diagnosis.
This page is for career exploration. It is not an income forecast, licensing guarantee, job-placement promise, medical/legal advice, or psychological diagnosis.
Contract and Project Risks
This page is for career exploration. It is not an income forecast, licensing guarantee, job-placement promise, medical/legal advice, or psychological diagnosis.
What should you prepare next?
Build a factual brief
- Confirm the SOC/O*NET or China occupation identity.
- Review the BLS/O*NET or China public-source definition.
- List tasks, tools, work settings, and source boundaries.
Test interest fit
- Take the RIASEC/Holland test first.
- Compare with MBTI and Big Five only as secondary signals.
- Look for mismatch between interest and real work context.
Observe the job market
- Review LinkedIn, Robert Half, Hays, Zhaopin, Liepin, and employer postings as market signals only.
- Do not treat a single job posting as a national salary fact.
Practice one work sample
- Create a sample report, lesson plan, service script, inspection checklist, portfolio item, analysis, repair log, or case summary depending on the role.
Manage risk
- Identify credential, safety, income, automation, location, and schedule risks before committing.
FAQ
Is Chefs and head cooks a good fit for my personality?
It may fit if your work style matches the role's RIASEC pattern: Enterprising-primary, Realistic-secondary, Conventional-support. This is not a personality diagnosis; it is a way to test whether you can sustain the daily work environment, feedback, procedures, and responsibility of Chefs and head cooks.
Is Chefs and head cooks financially stable?
The BLS exact reference for this asset is: $60,990 median annual wage and 7.1% projected growth when a BLS row exists. These are labor-market facts, not personal income guarantees; location, credentials, employer type, hours, and experience can change outcomes.
Will AI replace Chefs and head cooks?
AI may accelerate research, records, drafting, scheduling, reporting, or data tasks, but this page does not claim the occupation will or will not be replaced. The safer question is which parts of the work require human judgment, safety responsibility, relationships, or field context.
Related next pages
Sources
- BLS Occupational Projections and Worker Characteristics, 2024–2034 - U.S. employment, wage, growth, education, experience, and training fields when a mapped BLS row exists
Boundary notice
Last reviewed: 2026-05-03. Next review due: 2026-08-03.
Next step
Use RIASEC to check your career-interest structure before making a job-path decision.
Test whether your career interests fit Chefs and head cooks / 测我的职业兴趣是否适合主厨与厨师长