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Personal & Culinary Services

Types of Degrees Personal & Culinary Services Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Personal & Culinary Services may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	77,747
Associate’s Degree	11,276
Bachelor’s Degree	665
Master’s Degree	68,933

What Personal & Culinary Services Majors Need to Know

Studies in Personal & Culinary Services build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Personal & Culinary Services graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Personal & Culinary Services emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Food Production — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 2.6 / 7.
• Sales and Marketing — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.0 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set developed in a Personal & Culinary Services program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Monitoring — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Service Orientation — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Coordination — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Personal & Culinary Services careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Near Vision — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Personal & Culinary Services graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	3.9 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	3.7 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.6 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.6 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.5 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.5 / 7
Performing General Physical Activities	3.4 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	3.4 / 7
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public	3.4 / 7
Thinking Creatively	3.4 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Personal & Culinary Services professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Facebook	Web page creation and editing software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Delphi Technology	Financial analysis software	—
Intuit QuickBooks	Accounting software	—
Menu planning software	Data base user interface and query software	—
YouTube	Video creation and editing software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Personal & Culinary Services graduates include:

• Cook
• Culinary Specialist
• Culinary Artist
• Private Chef
• Culinary Chef
• Personal Chef
• Cooking Chef
• Cook Manager
• Kitchen Manager
• Food and Beverage Director
• Kitchen Supervisor
• Sous Chef
• Menu Planner
• Chef Manager
• Dinner Cook

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Personal & Culinary Services graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	34.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	22.3%
Postsecondary certificate	18.9%
Less than a high school diploma	12.7%
Some college courses	5.9%
Bachelor’s degree	5.0%
Master’s degree	0.8%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.1%
First professional degree	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Personal & Culinary Services?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 85.7% of Personal & Culinary Services degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	141,270	85.7%
Men	23,494	14.3%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Personal & Culinary Services graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	62,868	38.2%
Asian	5,971	3.6%
Hispanic or Latino	50,551	30.7%
Black or African American	31,322	19.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1,423	0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	596	0.4%
Two or More Races	6,182	3.8%
Race Unknown	4,747	2.9%
International Students	1,104	0.7%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Personal & Culinary Services Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Personal & Culinary Services graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$18,199
4 years	$21,507
5 years	$23,957

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $23,957 — roughly 32% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Personal & Culinary Services Programs

Online study is tracked by IPEDS for Personal & Culinary Services. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	18	32
Bachelor’s	5	2
Master’s	1	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Personal & Culinary Services Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Personal & Culinary Services graduates earn a median of $21,507 four years after completion — about 43% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.