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Boston Career Explorer

Food Preparation and Serving Related

Dishwashers

Clean dishes, kitchen, food preparation equipment, or utensils.

Also called: Busser, Dish Machine Operator (DMO), Dish Room Worker, Dish Runner, Dish Technician (Dish Tech), Dishwasher

Median pay in Greater Boston
$37,750
$18.15/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
10,540
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+0.2%
2,080 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

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$34,550$35,950$37,750$43,290$46,830

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Wash dishes, glassware, flatware, pots, or pans, using dishwashers or by hand.
  • Maintain kitchen work areas, equipment, or utensils in clean and orderly condition.
  • Place clean dishes, utensils, or cooking equipment in storage areas.
  • Sweep or scrub floors.
  • Stock supplies, such as food or utensils, in serving stations, cupboards, refrigerators, or salad bars.
  • Clean or prepare various foods for cooking or serving.

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 exposure2 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 2
  • Language-model AIOE 2
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 3

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for dishwashers is lower, and observed AI use in this job is little or none. The main work is hands-on: washing, scrubbing, sweeping, and moving supplies around a kitchen. AI tools may help a little with tracking what needs restocking, but they do not do the physical tasks.

Likely to change

  • Tracking which supplies need restocking
  • Kitchen equipment settings and monitoring

Still relies on people

  • Hand-washing pots, pans, and utensils
  • Scrubbing floors and keeping kitchen clean

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

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    Pay difference
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  • Brickmasons and Blockmasons

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    Pay difference
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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

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

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