Culinary Arts Major Guide: Overview and RoEDU™ Opportunities 2025

The Culinary Arts major builds core foundations in this discipline and prepares students with practical, career-relevant skills. Use RoEDU™ to find programs that match your goals.

Within Culinary, students often explore key subfields and specializations that provide targeted expertise.

Graduates translate classroom knowledge into real-world impact across sectors through hands-on projects and internships.

As part of Culinary, this major connects to diverse, high-demand fields and interdisciplinary pathways.

Salary Outlook

Entry-level salary
$35,189

Typical starting pay soon after graduation.

Mid-career salary (10y)
$55,636

Estimated after a decade of experience.

Experienced salary (20y)
$74,770

Seasoned professionals at ~20 years.

Weighted median over last 5 years
CAGR 4.8%

CAGR (compound annual growth rate) summarizes average yearly change across the observed period.

Estimated lifetime earnings

40 years, present value
$1,407,560

Employment-weighted across mapped SOCs; entry ≈ 85% of median; historical CAGR shown for last 5y; projections capped at 3% CAGR; lifetime is 40-year present value at 3% discount.

Career Opportunities & Salaries

Data from Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024) • Median wages, employment, and growth projections

OccupationMedian WageTotal JobsGrowth RateEducation
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
SOC: 35-1012
Occupation: First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
$42,010
1,187,460
N/A
N/A
Butchers and Meat Cutters
SOC: 51-3021
Occupation: Butchers and Meat Cutters
$38,960
140,040
N/A
N/A
Slaughterers and Meat Packers
SOC: 51-3023
Occupation: Slaughterers and Meat Packers
$39,790
67,500
N/A
N/A
Chefs and Head Cooks
SOC: 35-1011
Occupation: Chefs and Head Cooks
$60,990
182,320
N/A
N/A
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
SOC: 35-2012
Occupation: Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
$36,450
448,260
N/A
N/A
Food Service Managers
SOC: 11-9051
Occupation: Food Service Managers
$65,310
244,230
N/A
N/A

Historical Career Trends (2020-2024)

Historical data from Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020-2024) • Salary trends and employment growth over 5 years

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers

21.5%
5-Year Growth
YearMedian WageEmployment
2024$42,0101,187,460
2023$38,5201,176,540
2022$37,0501,169,620
2021$36,5701,040,600
2020$34,570891,540

Butchers and Meat Cutters

18.4%
5-Year Growth
YearMedian WageEmployment
2024$38,960140,040
2023$37,650136,330
2022$36,930129,400
2021$36,050145,930
2020$32,900142,220

Slaughterers and Meat Packers

29.6%
5-Year Growth
YearMedian WageEmployment
2024$39,79067,500
2023$38,16071,310
2022$35,24078,660
2021$29,90086,450
2020$30,71077,980

Chefs and Head Cooks

14.3%
5-Year Growth
YearMedian WageEmployment
2024$60,990182,320
2023$58,920172,370
2022$56,520160,190
2021$50,160129,810
2020$53,380101,490

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

27.2%
5-Year Growth
YearMedian WageEmployment
2024$36,450448,260
2023$35,320435,640
2022$32,510417,780
2021$29,910392,860
2020$28,650387,300

Food Service Managers

15.4%
5-Year Growth
YearMedian WageEmployment
2024$65,310244,230
2023$63,060246,070
2022$61,310231,100
2021$59,440210,680
2020$56,590197,010

Cooks, Restaurant

27.9%
5-Year Growth
YearMedian WageEmployment
2024$36,8301,452,130
2023$35,7801,412,350
2022$34,1101,321,480
2021$30,0101,193,860
2020$28,8001,109,650

Cooks, All Other

18.9%
5-Year Growth
YearMedian WageEmployment
2024$36,21023,590
2023$35,92018,650
2022$33,39018,590
2021$30,72018,170
2020$30,46019,080

Bartenders

34.3%
5-Year Growth
YearMedian WageEmployment
2024$33,530745,610
2023$31,510711,140
2022$29,380613,070
2021$26,350485,330
2020$24,960486,720

Bakers

24.7%
5-Year Growth
YearMedian WageEmployment
2024$36,650231,890
2023$34,950220,230
2022$32,780205,300
2021$29,750181,800
2020$29,400168,890

Colleges offering Culinary Arts

The University of Texas at Austin

RoEdu™

999

Net Price

$19k

Earnings

$65k

Cornell University

RoEdu™

999

Net Price

$27k

Earnings

$91k

Drexel University

RoEdu™

999

Net Price

$43k

Earnings

$78k

Shasta College

RoEdu™

999

Net Price

$8k

Earnings

$75k

New York University

RoEdu™

983

Net Price

$31k

Earnings

$73k

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