Food Preparation and Serving Related
Cooks, Fast Food
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.
Also called: Cook, Cook Line Worker, Fast Food Cook, Food Cook, Fry Cook, Fryer
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $41,600
- $20.00/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- Not published
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- −13.8%
- 630 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- No formal educational credential
- plus Short-term on-the-job training
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $36,400 | $37,540 | $41,600 | $44,290 | $48,850 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d do
- Read food order slips or receive verbal instructions as to food required by patron, and prepare and cook food according to instructions.
- Maintain sanitation, health, and safety standards in work areas.
- Clean food preparation areas, cooking surfaces, and utensils.
- Operate large-volume cooking equipment, such as grills, deep-fat fryers, or griddles.
- Take food and drink orders and receive payment from customers.
- Cook the exact number of items ordered by each customer, working on several different orders simultaneously.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Lower exposure23 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 26
- Language-model AIOE 35
- GPTs-are-GPTs 7
Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)
AI exposure for this job is lower, and observed AI use is little or none. AI tools may touch order taking and payment, but cooking on the grill and fryer and cleaning are hands-on. Massachusetts projects this job to shrink 13.8% from 2024 to 2034, so it helps to look at related options.
Likely to change
- Taking food and drink orders
- Handling customer payments
Still relies on people
- Cooking on grills, fryers, and griddles
- Cleaning and keeping the kitchen safe
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
Next steps from here
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Food handling and sanitation skills carry over. This job pays $48,910 in Boston and has lower AI exposure.
- Pay difference
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- AI exposure
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- MA growth
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Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
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Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
Working with equipment and keeping spaces safe carry over. This job pays $59,670 in Boston, with moderate-term training.
- Pay difference
- +$18,070 median
- AI exposure
- Lower
- MA growth
- +5.2%
- To get started
- High school diploma or equivalent
Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.
Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.
Related occupations
Talk to a career coach
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