Vocational Index

Career

Cooks, all other

All cooks not listed separately.

$37,690
Median pay
+5.2%
Job growth, 2025–35
2,800
Openings a year
No formal educational credential
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school

Here's what you actually need to know.

The work

What people in this job do

All cooks not listed separately.

The outlook

How the forecast changed this year

2024–34 edition+5.5%2025–35 edition+5.2%
Projected 10-year growth in last year's and this year's BLS projections. 3,700 → 2,800 openings a year.

Paths in

Degrees that lead here

  • Cooking and Related Culinary Arts, GeneralCIP 12.0500
  • Culinary Arts/Chef TrainingCIP 12.0503
  • Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen AssistantCIP 12.0505
  • Culinary Science/CulinologyCIP 12.0509

Paths across

Careers that use similar skills

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    Sources

    1. BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
    2. BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
    3. O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
    4. CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.