What is a fast food worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
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There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a fast food worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $11.95 an hour? That's $24,860 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 14% and produce 775,300 job opportunities across the U.S.
ScoreFast Food WorkerUS Average
Salary
1.9

Avg. Salary $24,860

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
7.0

Growth Rate 14%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
2.9
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.85%

Asian 6.49%

Black or African American 9.64%

Hispanic or Latino 18.63%

Unknown 6.92%

White 57.47%

Gender

female 52.99%

male 47.01%

Age - 21
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 21
Stress Level
7.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
5.7

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
9.7

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

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Fast Food Worker career paths

Key steps to become a fast food worker

  1. Explore fast food worker education requirements

    Most common fast food worker degrees

    High School Diploma

    62.8 %

    Diploma

    12.9 %

    Associate

    10.5 %
  2. Start to develop specific fast food worker skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Food Handling28.43%
    Basic Math16.83%
    Drive-Thru9.33%
    Safety Standards4.49%
    Customer Service3.86%
  3. Complete relevant fast food worker training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New fast food workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a fast food worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real fast food worker resumes.
  4. Research fast food worker duties and responsibilities

    • Operate ovens, deep fryers, grills, cash registers, and other appliances.
    • Operate large-volume cooking equipment such as grills, deep-fat fryers, conventional and microwave ovens.
    • Experience at POS, always give customer satisfaction and very persuasive with sales.
    • Landscape public parks utilizing a variety of heavy machinery including weed whackers, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and trimmers.
  5. Prepare your fast food worker resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your fast food worker resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a fast food worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Fast Food Worker Resume templates

    Build a professional Fast Food Worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Fast Food Worker resume.
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    Fast Food Worker Resume
  6. Apply for fast food worker jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a fast food worker job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Fast Food Worker Job

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Average fast food worker salary

The average Fast Food Worker salary in the United States is $24,860 per year or $12 per hour. Fast food worker salaries range between $12,000 and $51,000 per year.

Average Fast Food Worker Salary
$24,860 Yearly
$11.95 hourly

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How do fast food workers rate their job?

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Fast Food Worker reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020
Cons

Repetitive tasks. Or obviously, working with people who are highly critical.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019
Cons

Disorganized and very little room to improve.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019
Pros

The customers that treat you with respect are friendly kind and leave with a smile on there faces

Cons

Rude customers walk outs non tippers who don't clean up after their children just being disrespectful


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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