Management · Holland code ECR

Food Service Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate activities of an organization or department that serves food and beverages.

Also called: F and B Manager (Food and Beverage Manager), Food Service Director, Food Service Manager, Restaurant Manager, Banquet Manager, Catering Manager, CDM (Certified Dietary Manager), Dining Service Director.

O*NET 11-9051.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $69,390; Middle half earn $56,870 to $86,800. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 30% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +6% · Faster than average; 352,800 jobs in 2024, projected 375,300. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Food service managers".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Monitor employee and patron activities to ensure liquor regulations are obeyed.
Greet guests, escort them to their seats, and present them with menus and wine lists.
Count money and make bank deposits.
Establish standards for personnel performance and customer service.
Keep records required by government agencies regarding sanitation or food subsidies.
Schedule staff hours and assign duties.
Investigate and resolve complaints regarding food quality, service, or accommodations.
Maintain food and equipment inventories, and keep inventory records.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening3.9 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5
Monitoring3.9 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.8 / 5
Critical Thinking3.6 / 5
Active Learning3.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.5 / 5
Administration and Management4.1 / 5
Food Production4.0 / 5
English Language3.5 / 5
Personnel and Human Resources3.5 / 5
Sales and Marketing3.4 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic53
Investigative16
Artistic10
Social42
Enterprising83
Conventional68

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

restaurant manager · DE Restaurantmanager/Restaurantmanagerin · FR gérant de restaurant/gérante de restaurant
venue director · DE Manager des Veranstaltungsortes/Managerin des Veranstaltungsortes · FR responsable de salle en évènementiel
head chef · DE Küchenleiter/Küchenleiterin · FR chef cuisinier/cheffe cuisinière
head sommelier · DE Chefsommelier/Chefsommelière · FR sommelier en chef /sommelière en chef
quick service restaurant team leader · DE Schnellrestaurantteamleiter/Schnellrestaurantteamleiterin · FR manager en restauration rapide/manageuse en restauration rapide

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Restaurant and catering establishment managers and proprietors (1222)140,500 employed
Chefs (5434)222,700 employed
Events managers and organisers (3557)95,000 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Managers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Managers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€96,629
Italy	€96,052
Germany	€90,192
Austria	€82,936
Netherlands	€69,857
Sweden	€60,369
France	€58,740
Ireland	€55,854
Spain	€54,121
Portugal	€39,189
Poland	€19,596

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.12. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (11-9051).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test