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Career Change Finder

Jobs for Former Food Service Managers

Food Service Managers build coordination, management of personnel resources and service orientation 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 Chefs and Head Cooks (88%).

Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers

Skills you enjoy

Pick the skills you want to keep using. The list re-ranks.

Sorted by skill match.

25 careers that use your skills

  1. 1Chefs and Head Cooks
    88%
    Median pay
    $62,470
    Pay change
    −10%
    Extra educationCertificate or associate
  2. 2First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
    78%
    Median pay
    $44,080
    Pay change
    −36%
    Extra educationNone
  3. 3First-Line Supervisors of Gambling Services Workers
    75%
    Median pay
    $63,820
    Pay change
    −8%
    Extra educationNone
  4. 4First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers
    75%
    Median pay
    $48,520
    Pay change
    −30%
    Extra educationNone
  5. 5First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers
    71%
    Median pay
    $49,100
    Pay change
    −29%
    Extra educationNone
  6. 6First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
    71%
    Median pay
    $69,500
    Pay change
    0%
    Extra educationCertificate or associate
  7. 7Administrative Services Managers
    69%
    Median pay
    $114,130
    Pay change
    +64%
    Extra educationCertificate or associate
  8. 8Farm Labor Contractors
    68%
    Median pay
    $58,460
    Pay change
    −16%
    Extra educationNone
  9. 9Athletes and Sports Competitors
    68%
    Median pay
    $66,710
    Pay change
    −4%
    Extra educationNone
  10. 10First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers
    66%
    Median pay
    $48,590
    Pay change
    −30%
    Extra educationCertificate or associate

Compared with Food Service Managers, median $69,390. 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.

Your transferable skills

How important each skill is in work as food service managers (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).

Coordination3.88
Management of Personnel Resources3.88
Service Orientation3.75
Social Perceptiveness3.62
Time Management3.50
Judgment and Decision Making3.12

Skills to learn

The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.

  • Technology Design
  • Instructing
  • Persuasion
  • Judgment and Decision Making

Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.

Your top 3 moves, up close

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.

Chefs and Head Cooks

88% skill match · $62,470 · −10% pay

First step

  • Most common education: Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (54% of workers).
  • Usually needs vocational training or an associate degree — more preparation than your current job.
  • A certification can help.
  • On-the-job training: anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month.

Skills to add

Judgment and Decision Making · Instructing · Operation and Control

Is this right for you?

  • Tight deadlines are common
  • Long hours on your feet
  • Dealing with conflict is part of the job

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers

78% skill match · $44,080 · −36% pay

First step

  • Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (70% of workers).
  • On-the-job training: anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month.

Skills to add

Instructing · Technology Design

Is this right for you?

  • Long hours on your feet

First-Line Supervisors of Gambling Services Workers

75% skill match · $63,820 · −8% pay

First step

  • Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (48% of workers).
  • On-the-job training: anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month.

Skills to add

Programming · Installation · Complex Problem Solving

Is this right for you?

  • Dealing with conflict is part of the job
  • Long hours on your feet
  • Tight deadlines are common

Similar roles in the same field

If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.

Free help near you

Former food service managers can get free career counseling, job search help and, if you qualify, help paying for training through American Job Centers, which are funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Find an American Job CenterFind training programs

Links go to CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Questions former food service managers ask

What jobs can former food service managers do?

The closest matches are Chefs and Head Cooks (88% skill match, median $62,470), First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers (78% skill match, median $44,080) and First-Line Supervisors of Gambling Services Workers (75% skill match, median $63,820), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.

Which food service manager career changes pay more?

Among the 25 matches, 7 pay more than food service managers at the median. The biggest increases: Administrative Services Managers (+64%, $114,130), Facilities Managers (+54%, $106,660) and First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives (+53%, $106,040).

Do former food service managers need another degree?

16 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.

How is the skill match calculated?

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.

Keep exploring

Sources. Skills, tasks and education: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Data Sources & Licenses