Why We Love It
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$19,610Potential Avg. Salary
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-15.3%Job Growth Rate
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Don't Take Work HomeCareer Attribute
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Good Money From TipsCareer Attribute
Very few can claim to not love the cheesy delicacy that a pizza is. Pizza is an international staple food now, not being confined to the ovens in Italy anymore. As all major pizza chains have spread their branches across countries with eateries in all major cities, we can easily gauge the demand for Pizza cooks. There are some of us who love and have a passion for cooking and those of us who like to indulge in them. However, cooking Pizza is an easily acquirable skill set for anyone who is interested.
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What is a Pizza Cook?
A Pizza cook employed in any eatery is expected to carry out the following duties in their daily routine
- Preparing the dough and kneading it to perfect texture.
- Preparing the crust layer while minor pinprick making incisions in the dough to hold the melting cheese’s flavour onto the crust.
- Preparing the vegetables and toppings.
- Making sure that the oven is at perfect temperature if it is a wood oven.
- Making sure the grill and utensils and kitchen is clean at all times.
- Being mindful of the orders and special requests if any while tabbing which pizza is to be delivered where.
Day in the life
Most of the pizza cooks enjoy the pleasant aromas of baking cheese that surrounds them. A smell that raises appetite and warm and happy. Beyond cooking, a lot of pizza cooks also get to interact with customers in open kitchen restaurants and pizzerias.
Though most of the day is predictable and offers little variation, the challenge of coming up with new recipes and watching the happy smiles on customer’s appreciative faces for a perfectly baked pizza is what is claimed to motivate them every day. It is considered as a rewarding job by many who like cooking and filling stomachs with warm food.
Work schedule and typical hours
The working hours in most pizzerias extend through the day though in most cases supper and dinner time are when the orders are higher. It completely depends on the pizzeria owner if they intend to cook in the night and do late night deliveries too. So as such working hours are entirely dependent on the establishment where one joins.
Growth of the job
As a Pizza cook one gets first hand exposure to looking into stocking of ingredients, maintenance of the kitchen area, and day to day operations in the eatery. With accumulation of experience and enhanced people skills, one can even get to become a manager in due course of time.
Growth of job market does not show any signs of decline as pizzas are in high demand and the restaurants are doing exceedingly well in terms of business.
Typical employers
Employers who recruit in large numbers are the huge pizza chains found across the globe, such as Pizza Hut and Dominos. They have similar model of operations across geographies and most have workhours from morning to
evening. Several high end restaurants are also there which offer richer toppings and more exquisite pizzas where making pizza is considered an art and where making handmade pizzas is an added skill.
Several pizzerias also possess fire wood oven which are supposed to impart a distinct woody ash flavour to the pizza, and knowledge of operation of such ovens might be a prerequisite at such places. Several smaller establishments also run on offering gourmet pizzas custom made based on order. Also late night pizza delivery ventures also abound with opportunities for pizza cook.
As the modus operandi and popularity of the joints are different, the pay that one draws is entirely dependent on the place of occupation and the establishment.
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How To Become a Pizza Cook
Becoming a pizza cook isn’t really a matter of acquiring qualifications but of acquiring the requisite skill set. A lot of pizza cooks don’t even need to have a high school diploma. Just basic interest in cooking and baking can get one a job as a trainee in a pizzeria where one can slowly acquire skills to become a pizza cook in time. Interested candidates can also practice cooking pizza at home and demonstrate the same to quickly lad a job as a pizza cook.
Participating in pizza cooking competitions is also an interesting way to get lucrative offers in the industry and will give chance to work with some of the greatest legends in the world of baking pizzas. Also certain institutes offer vocational training for a short duration to get hands down experience in cooking pizzas.
Pizza Cook Salary Data
We’ve provided you the following to learn more about this career. The salary and growth data on this page comes from recently published Bureau of Labor Statistics data while the recommendations and editorial content are based on our research.
National Anual Salary
Low Range
$17,750Average
$19,610High Range
$24,140National Hourly Wage
Low Range
$9/hrAverage
$9/hrHigh Range
$12/hrHow do Pizza Cook salaries stack up to other jobs across the country? Based on the latest jobs data nationwide, Pizza Cook's can make an average annual salary of $19,610, or $9 per hour. This makes it an Above Average Salary. On the lower end, they can make $17,750 or $9 per hour, perhaps when just starting out or based on the state you live in.
Salary Rankings And Facts
#814 Nationally for All Careers
Highest Education Among Pizza Cooks
- 0.2% Doctorate
- 0.6% Masters
- 4.6% Bachelors
- 5.2% Associates
- 18.2% College
- 40.3% High School
- 30.9% Less than High School
Job Growth Projections and Forecast
2014 Total Jobs
524,4002024 Est. Jobs
444,000Job Growth Rate
-15.3%Est. New Jobs
-80,400How does Pizza Cook job growth stack up to other jobs across the country? By 2024, there will be a change of -80,400 jobs for a total of 444,000 people employed in the career nationwide. This is a -15.3% change in growth over the next ten years, giving the career a growth rate nationwide of Below Average.
Growth Rankings And Facts
#770 Nationally for All Careers
What Companies Employ The Most Pizza Cooks
| Industry | Current Jobs | New Jobs Needed | % Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-service restaurants | 47,200 | -17,500 | -18% |
| Gasoline stations | 4,700 | 200 | 0% |
| Grocery stores | 2,700 | 100 | 0% |
