Food Services Manager Schools, Salaries, and Job Data
Food Service Managers Job Overview
Food service managers deal with the daily operations of restaurants and other establishments that prepare and serve food and beverages to customers. They not only look after customer satisfaction, but also coordinate activities among departments, such as the kitchen, dining room and banquet room. They also look after the inventory, ordering of food, equipment, supplies, arranging for routine maintenance and preservation of the restaurant's equipment and facilities.
Food service managers are required to interview, hire, train and, whenever necessary, fire employees. In restaurants where there are both food service managers and executive chefs, the managers often help the chefs select menu items. Food service managers are among the first to arrive in the morning and the last to leave at night. Twelve to fifteen hours workdays are common, and sometimes they even end up working more than 50 hours per week.
Food Service Managers Schools and Degrees
About 1,000 colleges and universities offer 4-year programs in restaurant and hospitality management or institutional food service management. A growing number of university programs offer graduate degrees in hospitality management or similar fields. Community and junior colleges, technical institutes and other institutions are also available, which offer programs leading to an associate’s degree or other formal certification.
Job Requirements
The most common way to enter the profession is to work as a waiter or waitress, cook or counter helper. Post-secondary education is preferred for many food service manager positions. Many food service management companies and national or regional restaurant chains recruit management trainees from 2 and 4 year college hospitality management programs, which require internships and real-life experience to graduate.
Most employers give emphasis to personal qualities while hiring managers. Employees who are reliable, show initiative and have leadership traits are most likely to get promoted. Other qualities that are looked for are good problem-solving skills and the ability to concentrate on details. A neat and clean appearance is important as well, because food service managers must convey self-confidence and show respect in dealing with the public. Managers must be good communicators since they mostly deal with customers, employees and suppliers.
Nature of Work
Food service managers are generally responsible for all administrative and human-resource functions of a business, as well as recruiting new employees, monitoring employee performance and training new employees. Managers recruit employees at career fairs, contact schools offering academic programs in hospitality or culinary arts and arrange for newspaper advertising attracting additional applicants.
Food service managers need to ensure customer satisfaction and investigate and resolve customer complaints regarding service or food quality. They have to monitor orders in the kitchen, give directions about cleaning and continually monitor the actions of employees and patrons. Apart from these, food service managers also perform various administrative assignments.
Food Service Managers Jobs and Outlook
Food service manager jobs are expected to grow by 5 percent in the next 10 years. Many new eateries and bars are expected to open, and this will help generate new employment opportunities. In addition, the need to replace managers who transfer to other occupations or stop working will create new job opportunities. Most new jobs will be in full-service restaurants. Although practical experience is crucial in this field, applicants with a degree in restaurant, hospitality or institutional food service management will have an edge.
According to research, food service managers held about 1,200,000 jobs in the US in 2006. Employment is highest in the following industries:
Elementary And Secondary Schools
Full-Service Restaurants
Special Food Services
Traveler Accommodation
Limited-Service Eating Places
The mean hourly wage for food service managers is about $20.20, while the mean annual wages are around $42,010.
Job Numbers and Growth
About 350,000 food services managers can be found working in the US. A low unemployment level has been the case recently. Employees without jobs were about 3%.
Area Job Conditions
Finding food services managers is easiest in Jacksonville (North Carolina), Myrtle Beach (South Carolina), and Lawton (Oklahoma), and by comparison more challenging in Jefferson City (Missouri), Houma (Louisiana), and Oshkosh (Wisconsin).
The pay is best in Edison (New Jersey), Trenton (New Jersey), and Newark (New Jersey) and worst in Oshkosh (Wisconsin), Pocatello (Idaho), and Fond du Lac (Wisconsin).
Training and Education
You'll generally want work experience in a related occupation for this career path. Of current food services managers, 24% graduated from college with degrees. Some 36% of workers attened college but did not go on to get a bachelor's degree. A high school education was sufficient for 40% of employees. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.
Part-Time Work and Self-Employment
Food services managers working part-time accounted for 8% of those employed in 2008. Self-employed workers represent an estimated 45% of the total.
Food Services Managers by Metropolitan Area (city and its surroundings)
In the table below, a Job Density near 0% means the area has an average number of people in this occupation, for its population. A higher or lower Job Density (e.g., +22% or -45%) tells you there are that many more or fewer workers of that type there than in the average US metro area. So, the higher the number, the more common the occupation.
Schools recommended for people interested in this career. Request info with quick online forms. These particular schools are noted for getting back to people fast.
Schools recommended for people interested in this career. Request info with quick online forms. These particular schools are noted for getting back to people fast.