What Is The Average Wages Of Chef And Head Cooks?
Knowing the wages of a chef is probably one of the areas that you need to survey before diving into chef career. I am sure you want to get into a career with a promising future. You don’t want to be getting into the wrong field where the demand is on the decline and the wages has been stagnant for several years.
A stagnant wages means the career has probably reached it peak and there is not much room for growing. A good way to find out if a career is in demand is to look at the history of its average wages. If the wages has been consistently on the rise for the past couple of years, it is a good indicator that the career is worth pursuing. For career as chef, you would want to do the same thing.
If you had picked chef as your career or if you are planning to pursue chef as your career, you had definitely made the right choice. According to the United States Bureau of Labor, the average annual chef wages in the past 5 years starting from 2003 have been consistently rising in the range of 5% year to year. The average annual chef wages from 2006 to 2007 recorded the most significant growth which is 7%.
For example, the average annual wages for chef and head cooks in May 2003 is $32,620 and the number has increased to $40,700 in May 2007. That’s an average increase of 6% or $2020 from year to year. Please refer to the following tables for the average annual wages of chef and head cooks.
*The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
In addition, the median annual wage-and-salary earnings of chefs and head cooks were $37,160 in May 2007. The middle 50 percent earned between $28,020 and $49,790. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $21,560, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $64,550 based on the following table.
The annual and hourly wage estimates in the above table indicate that:
- 10% of employees earn less than $10.37 per hour or $21,560 per year; therefore the remaining 90% earn more than $10.37 per hour or $21,560 per year.
- 25% earn less than $13.47 hourly or $28,020 annually; 75% earn more than $13.47 hourly or $28,020 annually.
- 50% earn less than $17.87 hourly or $37,160 annually; 50% earn more than $17.87 hourly or $37,160 annually (The 50th percentile is called the Median).
- 75% earn less than $23.94 hourly or $49,790 annually; 25% earn more than $23.94 hourly or $49,790 annually.
- 90% earn less than $31.04 hourly or $64,550 annually; 10% earn more than $31.04 hourly or $64,550 annually.
Please note that the average annual wages reported here are only applicable to chefs and head cooks. Chefs and head cooks, according to the US Bureau of Labor, are people who direct the preparation, seasoning, and cooking of salads, soups, fish, meats, vegetables, desserts, or other foods. They may plan and price menu items, order supplies, and keep records and accounts.
They may or may not participate in cooking. Therefore, fast-food cooks, private household cooks, restaurant cooks, cafeteria cooks, food preparation workers, and first-line supervisor/managers of food preparation and serving workers do not fall into this category. They will have a different average annual wages compared to chef and head cooks.
In conclusion, chef career is a promising field which is reflected in the annual wages increment nationally. Chef career is definitely a career worth pursuing in view of the average annual wages of $40K which is considered high compared to other career.
*All the numbers here are sourced from the United States Department of Labor (http://www.bls.gov/).
