Chefs and Head Cooks build coordination, social perceptiveness and time management skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Food Service Managers (90%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Food Service Managers | 90% | $69,390 | +11% | None |
| 2 | Cooks, Private Household | 73% | $47,940 | −23% | None |
| 3 | Farm Labor Contractors | 72% | $58,460 | −6% | None |
| 4 | First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers | 71% | $74,450 | +19% | None |
| 5 | First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers | 70% | $59,320 | −5% | None |
| 6 | First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers | 69% | $58,430 | −6% | None |
| 7 | Gambling Managers | 68% | $93,220 | +49% | None |
| 8 | First-Line Supervisors of Gambling Services Workers | 67% | $63,820 | +2% | None |
| 9 | Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers | 67% | $89,900 | +44% | Bachelor's degree |
| 10 | First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | 67% | $69,500 | +11% | None |
Compared with Chefs and Head Cooks, median $62,470. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as chefs and head cooks (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
90% skill match · $69,390 · +11% pay
73% skill match · $47,940 · −23% pay
72% skill match · $58,460 · −6% pay
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Food Service Managers (90% skill match, median $69,390), Cooks, Private Household (73% skill match, median $47,940) and Farm Labor Contractors (72% skill match, median $58,460), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 16 pay more than chefs and head cooks at the median. The biggest increases: Industrial Production Managers (+102%, $126,060), Administrative Services Managers (+83%, $114,130) and Facilities Managers (+71%, $106,660).
20 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.