Food preparation workers are one of the least happy careers in the United States.
At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, food preparation workers rate their career happiness 2.3 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 2% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy food preparation workers are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:
Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers
| Career | Satisfaction | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant manager | 2.7 | $59k |
| Butcher | 2.6 | $36k |
| Restaurant cook | 2.5 | $30k |
| Maitre d' | 2.5 | $25k |
| Food server | 2.4 | $26k |
| Food preparation worker | 2.3 | $29k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are food preparation workers happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do food preparation workers find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as food preparation workers?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are food preparation worker’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are food preparation workers making the best use of their abilities?
Are food preparation workers happy with their salary?
Food preparation workers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.4/5. Most food preparation workers do not feel that their salaries adequately reflect their work, and are actively unhappy with their income.
We asked food preparation workers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
2.4 out of 5 stars
1774 food preparation workers
5% of food preparation workers rated their compensation 5 stars
14% of food preparation workers rated their compensation 4 stars
25% of food preparation workers rated their compensation 3 stars
28% of food preparation workers rated their compensation 2 stars
28% of food preparation workers rated their compensation 1 stars
Do food preparation workers find their jobs meaningful?
On average, food preparation workers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 1.9/5. The majority of food preparation workers struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.
We asked food preparation workers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
1.9 out of 5 stars
1777 food preparation workers
3% of food preparation workers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
7% of food preparation workers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
17% of food preparation workers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
27% of food preparation workers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
46% of food preparation workers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as food preparation workers?
Food preparation workers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.2/5. The majority of food preparation workers don’t see personality fit as a hinderence in their career.
We asked food preparation workers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.2 out of 5 stars
1912 food preparation workers
16% of food preparation workers rated their career fit 5 stars
27% of food preparation workers rated their career fit 4 stars
26% of food preparation workers rated their career fit 3 stars
17% of food preparation workers rated their career fit 2 stars
13% of food preparation workers rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a food preparation worker’s work environment?
As a whole, food preparation workers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 2.8/5. Some food preparation workers are happy with their work environment, but it does not seem to be a meaningful contributer to career satisfaction for most.
We asked food preparation workers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
2.8 out of 5 stars
1919 food preparation workers
9% of food preparation workers rated their work environment 5 stars
21% of food preparation workers rated their work environment 4 stars
26% of food preparation workers rated their work environment 3 stars
25% of food preparation workers rated their work environment 2 stars
19% of food preparation workers rated their work environment 1 stars
Are food preparation workers making the best use of their abilities?
Former food preparation workers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.1/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a food preparation worker.
We asked food preparation workers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
2.1 out of 5 stars
1924 food preparation workers
5% of food preparation workers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
10% of food preparation workers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
18% of food preparation workers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
29% of food preparation workers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
38% of food preparation workers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars