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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

Compare with my current job (Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers)
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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    Physical stamina and working safely carry over. Roofing needs no formal credential, pays a Boston median of $66,350, and is projected to grow 7.7% in Massachusetts.

    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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