Poll of the Day > Is $20/hr good pay for kitchen work?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I hope so.

It depends on the area. Amazing for a LCoL area like most of Wyoming and Maine, good for a MCoL area like suburban cities, bad for HCoL cities like most of SoCal, NYC, and Chicago.

Also, what kind of kitchen work? Dishwashing? Or cooking/chef work? That matters too.

DerWillZurMacht posted...

It depends on the area. Amazing for a LCoL area like most of Wyoming and Maine, good for a MCoL area like suburban cities, bad for HCoL cities like most of SoCal, NYC, and Chicago.

Also, what kind of kitchen work? Dishwashing? Or cooking/chef work? That matters too.

Any kind of cooking

It's ok and I've worked at places where they paid their linecooks way less.

Man i make $20 an hour to spend nearly half my shift playing video games please don't tell anyone

I've worked way less intense jobs for $20/hr so I'd say yes.

Depends what you're doing but in general yes.

I worked in kitchens where I started at $12 an hour dishwashing (in 2014), getting around $40 from the tip pool nightly. This made it worth it, because it was very exhausting work. When I was prep cook I was making around $16 and I think I capped at $17 or $18, but I was managing the place. That wasn't worth it and frankly I consider the pay quite bad considering the stress, the responsibility, and how much the owners are making off of you. The tips make it livable for sure if you're at a popular place (I was at an asian street food style eatery and then a ramen bar owned by the same people) with good tipsharing. Guys that had kids were given a slight bump which ended up being $19/hr. I'd expect wages to be up around $20 in kitchens now, but it's still not really enough to get by these days, depending.

It definitely depends where you live. Personally I don't find the pay in kitchen work adequate but it is definitely good experience in that you learn how to operate under high pressure, learn very practical skills, and learn (hopefully) good communication, if the chefs aren't just dicks.

It could be great, or it could be a nightmare. Just keep an open mind, contribute to a positive work environment, but make some cash and skedaddle if it's not for you.