Food Preparation Workers (35-2021)

Occupation description:  Perform a variety of food preparation duties other than cooking, such as preparing cold foods and shellfish, slicing meat, and brewing coffee or tea.

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Career Ladder/Lattice

The Alaska Career Ladder/Lattice is a tool to help job seekers identify upward career paths and lateral opportunities.
Click here to see the career ladder/lattice for Food Preparation Workers.


Employment and Job Openings

  Average employment Average annual openings
  2010 estimate2020 projectionPercent change GrowthReplacementTotal
Alaska 2,5182,820 12.030 142172
United States 813,700897,900 10.38,420 29,29037,710

Job outlook

  • Alaska: Alaska’s employment growth is moderate with very high employment opportunities. Read more.


2012 Wages

  Mean Wage and
95% Confidence Interval
Wage by Percentile
  LowMeanHigh 10thMedian90th
United States n/a10.05n/a 7.929.2813.84
Alaska 11.5612.4313.30 8.3911.7617.83
Anchorage/Mat-Su Area (MSA) 10.2111.3912.57 8.2310.1416.67
Fairbanks North Star Borough (MSA) 12.8614.2315.60 10.0013.9918.44
Southeast Region 11.4512.7514.05 8.9511.5518.51
Balance of State 12.7813.6214.46 8.6313.3918.23

Labor Force Indicators

2011 Worker Characteristics
Total workersNonresident workers Percent nonresidentPercent age 45 plusPercent age 50 plus
4,9951,126 22.520.2 14.9
2011 Potential Supply
Qualified but working in another occupation1,031
Currently employed in a lower paid occupation0
UI claimants previously working in occupation619
2011 ALEXsys Employment Data
Number of registrants 3,447
Number of job position postings 529
Ratio of registrants to job position postings 6.5

Typical Entry-level Education, Experience, and/or On-the-job Training

Education: Less than high school Work experience: None On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training