Fast food and counter work builds coordination, service and people-reading skills that kitchens, stores and offices all use. Of the 25 careers below, Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants match best at 91%, and 23 of the 25 pay more than the $31,200 median.
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 | Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers | 91% | $33,980 | +9% | None |
| 2 | Cooks, Fast Food | 86% | $30,890 | −1% | None |
| 3 | Food Preparation Workers | 83% | $35,320 | +13% | None |
| 4 | Cooks, Short Order | 81% | $35,880 | +15% | None |
| 5 | Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | 81% | $31,200 | 0% | None |
| 6 | Cashiers | 80% | $32,880 | +5% | None |
| 7 | Stockers and Order Fillers | 79% | $37,330 | +20% | None |
| 8 | Butchers and Meat Cutters | 78% | $40,140 | +29% | None |
| 9 | Cooks, Restaurant | 78% | $37,390 | +20% | None |
| 10 | Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria | 78% | $37,450 | +20% | None |
Compared with Fast Food and Counter Workers, median $31,200. 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 fast food and counter workers (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 fast food shift means taking orders fast, keeping the line moving and staying calm when customers are upset. O*NET rates coordination, service orientation and social perceptiveness at 3 out of 5 for this job, so cook, cashier and clerk roles rank high. Moving to the kitchen or into stock work keeps the pace you know with different tasks. Supervisor and manager roles build on the teamwork you use every rush. The skills to add include quality control and troubleshooting.
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.
91% skill match · $33,980 · +9% pay
Management of Financial Resources · Judgment and Decision Making · Troubleshooting
86% skill match · $30,890 · −1% pay
Operation and Control · Quality Control Analysis · Operations Monitoring
83% skill match · $35,320 · +13% pay
Time Management · Quality Control Analysis · Troubleshooting
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers (91%), Cooks, Fast Food (86%) and Food Preparation Workers (83%), based on O*NET 31.0. Outside food service, Cashiers (80%) and Stockers and Order Fillers (79%) use the same speed and teamwork.
23 of the 25 matches pay more than the $31,200 median for fast food and counter workers. Food Service Managers earn $69,390 (+122%), and Postal Service Clerks earn $62,130 (+99%), according to BLS May 2025 data. Butchers and Meat Cutters earn $40,140 (+29%).
Yes. All 25 matches usually need no more education than a fast food job, based on O*NET Job Zones. Most of the training is on the job: the closest match usually takes up to 1 month to learn, and 74% of its workers have a high school diploma or the equivalent.
If you want to stay in food service, the nearest roles are Waiters and Waitresses (90% match), Food Servers, Nonrestaurant (89%), Baristas (86%) and Bartenders (83%). These use the same customer skills in a different setting and pace.