Food service manager essential career information:
- 2012 median pay: $47,960
- 2012, number of jobs: 189,510
- Employment growth forecast, 2010-2020: -3 percent
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
Food service managers; what they do:
If you enjoy restaurant management, customer interaction, and the food services industry, then food service management may be in your future. A food services manager wears many hats; they ensure customers are satisfied, oversee daily restaurant operations and occasionally serve food and drinks to patrons.
A food service manager career involves reviewing daily food and beverage inventory, restaurant equipment and supplies and overseeing culinary preparation and meal quantity. A food service manager career also includes complying with all health codes as well as employee and food safety.
Food services managers hire and fire employees and make sure employees receive training. A food services manager career also involves finding resolutions for any customer complaints, designing and planning employee schedules and duties and reviewing all payroll, budget and financial transactions. Professionals in food service management also design and implement employee performance and patron service standards.
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Food service managers job titles:
- Catering Manager
- Food and Beverage Manager
- Restaurant Manager
- Food Service Director
- Kitchen Manager
- Banquet Manager
- Food Service Supervisor
- Restaurant General Manager
- Director of Food and Beverage
- Food Service Manager
Food Service Managers Education, Certification and License Requirements
Individuals typically do not need a college degree to begin a food service management career. However, increasingly employers seek candidates with some postsecondary education and training. Many food service management companies and national restaurant chains recruit at college hospitality and food management programs. Technical schools and community colleges provide training for individuals interested in a food service manager career.
Most certification and degree programs offer work-study training as well as classes in areas such as nutrition and food preparation, business management and computer science. In addition, restaurant chains and food management companies, such as healthcare food service management, offer intensive training programs. These programs include food preparation, nutrition, employee management and education on company procedures.
Food services managers don’t need certification; however the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation offers the Foodservice Management Professional (FMP) certificate to recognize outstanding professional service of food service managers.
Food service manager programs cover subjects such as:
- Food and nutrition
- Accounting
- Business law
- Sanitation
- Intercultural foods
- Food science
- Leadership in food and nutrition
- Nutrition management
- Foodservice operations
- Issues in food and nutrition
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Food Service Managers Job Outlook
Forecast: 3 percent decline in jobs for food service managers between 2010 and 2020 due to the overall drop in the openings of restaurants from the previous decade. However, the increasing demand for fast food increases the employment opportunities for food service managers in supermarkets and grocery stores as well as in other retail and food industries.
Food service managers have strong competition in the food industry; job openings usually occur due to workers retiring or transferring to other positions.
Post-secondary education and training programs give food service managers the edge they need in attaining future employment.
Food Service Managers Salary
- 2012 median annual wage: $47,960
- 2012 workers at the 75th percentile annual wage: $62,050
- 2012, workers at the 25th percentile annual wage: $38,110
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Major Employers
- Full-service restaurants
- Special food services
- Traveler accommodation
- Elementary and secondary schools
- Limited-service eating places
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