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Cooks, Short Order
Food Preparation and Serving Related · SOC 35-2015
0.0% AI Exposure — Low
$35,880
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
22,200
Proj. Annual Openings
138,650
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-1.6%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
100/100
AI Resiliency Score
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 35-2015 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
- SOC exposure
- 0.0%
- Low · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 45/100
- Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $35,880
- No H-1B offered-wage row for this SOC.
- Projected openings
- 22,200
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change -5.6%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- —
- FY— certified LCAs; 24,584 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
Active ListeningReading ComprehensionSpeakingCritical ThinkingCoordination
Transition context
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
AI Exposure Analysis
AI Exposure0.0%
AI Resiliency100/100
Exposure BandLow
Sector Avg. Exposure0.9%
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
16.5%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic0%
AI capability · OpenAI0%
AI ability · AIOE49.5%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne94%
Top Skills
1.Active Listening
2.Reading Comprehension
3.Speaking
4.Critical Thinking
5.Coordination
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →No H-1B certified LCA filings recorded for this occupation in FY2016–FY2025.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
Prepare and cook to order a variety of foods that require only a short preparation time. May take orders from customers and serve patrons at counters or tables.
Common titles: Broiler Cook, Cook, Deli Cook (Delicatessen Cook), Food and Beverage Attendant, Grill Cook, Line Cook
Representative Tasks
- •Clean food preparation equipment, work areas, and counters or tables.
- •Restock kitchen supplies, rotate food, and stamp the time and date on food in coolers.
- •Complete orders from steam tables, placing food on plates and serving customers at tables or counters.
- •Plan work on orders so that items served together are finished at the same time.
- •Grill, cook, and fry foods such as french fries, eggs, and pancakes.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Clean food preparation areas, facilities, or equipment.
- •Cook foods.
- •Store supplies or goods in kitchens or storage areas.
- •Maintain food, beverage, or equipment inventories.
- •Arrange food for serving.
Tools & Technologies
Aldelo Systems Aldelo for Restaurants ProFoodman Home-DeliveryInventory control softwarePlexis Software Plexis POSRestaurantPlus PRO
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
14
Occupations Shown
1.0%
Avg AI Exposure
9
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Multi-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 35-2015: 2019 — employment: 152,670, median wage: $25,150; 2020 — employment: 123,350, median wage: $26,570; 2021 — employment: 124,800, median wage: $28,560; 2022 — employment: 133,290, median wage: $30,360; 2023 — employment: 126,370, median wage: $34,130; 2025 — employment: 138,650, median wage: $35,880.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 0.0% | 0.9% |
| Outlook | Average | 60% Bright |
| Median Salary | $35,880 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 100/100 | N/A |