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Cooks, Fast Food

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Prepare and cook food in a fast food restaurant with a limited menu. Duties of these cooks are limited to preparation of a few basic items and normally involve operating large-volume single-purpose cooking equipment.

Related: Bakers Cooks, Restaurant Cooks, Short Order Fast Food & Counter Workers Food Preparation Workers

Industries: Hotel & Food

Summary
Details

Maintain sanitation, health, and safety standards in work areas.
Schedule activities and equipment use with managers, using information about daily menus to help coordinate cooking times.
Cook and package batches of food, such as hamburgers or fried chicken, prepared to order or kept warm until sold.
Order and take delivery of supplies.
Read food order slips or receive verbal instructions as to food required by patron, and prepare and cook food according to instructions.
Serve orders to customers at windows, counters, or tables.
Clean food preparation areas, cooking surfaces, and utensils.
Clean, stock, and restock workstations and display cases.
Prepare specialty foods, such as pizzas, fish and chips, sandwiches, or tacos, following specific methods that usually require short preparation time.
Measure ingredients required for specific food items.
Take food and drink orders and receive payment from customers.
Verify that prepared food meets requirements for quality and quantity.
Mix ingredients, such as pancake or waffle batters.
Operate large-volume cooking equipment, such as grills, deep-fat fryers, or griddles.
Wash, cut, and prepare foods designated for cooking.
Prepare and serve beverages, such as coffee or fountain drinks.
Take food and drink orders and receive payment from customers.
Prepare and serve beverages, such as coffee or fountain drinks.
Prepare dough, following recipe.
Pre-cook items, such as bacon, to prepare them for later use.
Cook the exact number of items ordered by each customer, working on several different orders simultaneously.

Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.

Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

36800/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

17.69/hr

Currently Employed

12,560

Yearly Projected Openings

2150

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Integrity
Cooperation
Dependability
Social Orientation
Self Control
Stress Tolerance

Cappuccino or espresso machines
Carbonated beverage dispenser
Cash registers
Commercial use blenders
Commercial use coffee or iced tea makers
Commercial use convection ovens
Commercial use cutlery
Commercial use deep fryers
Commercial use food processors
Commercial use food slicers
Commercial use griddles
Commercial use grills
Commercial use heat lamps
Commercial use hot dog grills
Commercial use mixers
Commercial use pizza ovens
Commercial use ranges
Commercial use scales
Domestic wooden oven paddle
Ice dispensers
Intercom systems
Milkshake machines
Non carbonated beverage dispenser
Point of sale POS terminal
Soft serve machines
Touch screen monitors

Electronic mail software
Point of sale POS software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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