How To Become A Sushi Chef: What It Is and Career Path

What is a sushi chef and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Patti Stobaugh

Sushi is a Japanese dish consisting of tiny balls or rolls of vinegar-flavored cold rice sub served with a topping of vegetables, egg, or raw seafood. Sushi Chefs know the methodologies to prepare traditional Japanese sushi rice, chop, slice, and filled various kinds of fish, and place orders for supplies as needed. They must be able to customize customers' orders according to preferences and considerations.

To become a Sushi Chef, you require formal training in Colleges and Universities. However, it requires years of training and apprenticeship to fulfill the required duties.

The individual who gravitates to this field ends up laying claim to annual earnings at $44,549. The current median pay for a Seller ranges from $33,510 to $52,480 in the U.S. However, this figure can vary significantly depending upon your experience and skills.

What general advice would you give to a Sushi Chef?

Patti Stobaugh

Owner, PattiCakes Bakery and Stoby's Restaurant

Being humble and willing to learn will take you far in your career, not just in the beginning. If you have the desire to open your own food service business, go to work for a business that has a great reputation. That will give you the opportunity to learn so much.

ScoreSushi ChefUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $42,969

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.2

Growth Rate 15%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.75%

Asian 26.65%

Black or African American 7.40%

Hispanic or Latino 19.76%

Unknown 5.36%

White 40.08%

Gender

female 21.80%

male 78.20%

Age - 41

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 - 41

Stress Level

9.2

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.4

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

0.2

Work Life balance is

6.4 - fair

Newest jobs for Sushi Chef in Columbus, OH

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Key steps to become a sushi chef

Explore sushi chef education requirements

Most common sushi chef degrees

Bachelor's

39.6 %

Associate

26.1 %

High School Diploma

25.2 %

Start to develop specific sushi chef skills

Skills	Percentages
Quality Standards	15.10%
Cleanliness	13.58%
Kitchen Equipment	12.30%
Food Handling	9.72%
Culinary	8.49%

Complete relevant sushi chef training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New sushi chefs 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 sushi chef based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sushi chef resumes.

Research sushi chef duties and responsibilities

Skil at managing kitchen operations and complying with culinary standards.
Manage a kitchen of military personal and Japanese civilian chefs.
Restock the buffet with the different items as they run low.
Develop variety of menu items catering to customers with food allergies and diet restrictions.

Prepare your sushi chef resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sushi chef 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 sushi chef resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Sushi Chef Resume templates

Build a professional Sushi Chef 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 Sushi Chef resume.

Apply for sushi chef jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a sushi chef job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

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

How do sushi chefs rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Sushi Chef reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Pros

Design & creating food making customer happy cooking every area as line, prep, steam, broil, grill, creating comfort food desserts and catering. Ordering and managing a kitchen

Cons

Nothing to complain about love being a chef