Food Preparation Workers vs Bakers
Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index
A factual, source-backed comparison of Food Preparation Workers and Bakers on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”
At a glance
| Dimension | Food Preparation Workers | Bakers |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $34,220 | $36,650 |
| Employment | 888,770 | 231,890 |
| Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection | Declining (-3.4%) | About average (+5.6%) |
| Annual openings · BLS projection | 148,000 | 39,900 |
| Typical education · O*NET | Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. | Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. |
| AI exposure · published exposure studies | Moderate · 44th pct | Low · 27th pct |
| Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk | 11th pct · 13% of tasks | 22nd pct · 17% of tasks |
| Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index | Augmentation-leaning (55.4%) | Augmentation-leaning (45.4%) |
| Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman | No | No |
Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.
Skills
Shared: Customer and Personal Service, Active Listening, Time Management, Oral Comprehension, Near Vision, Food Production, Speaking, Coordination, Oral Expression, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity, Finger Dexterity, Speech Recognition, Speech Clarity, Critical Thinking, Information Ordering, Production and Processing, Reading Comprehension, Social Perceptiveness, Problem Sensitivity, Deductive Reasoning, Category Flexibility, Selective Attention, Monitoring, Inductive Reasoning, English Language, Judgment and Decision Making, Administration and Management, Written Comprehension, Visual Color Discrimination, Quality Control Analysis, Mathematics.
Specific to Food Preparation Workers
- Service Orientation
- Trunk Strength
- Stamina
- Extent Flexibility
- Far Vision
- Static Strength
- Time Sharing
- Multilimb Coordination
Specific to Bakers
- Active Learning
- Perceptual Speed
- Control Precision
- Sales and Marketing
- Operations Monitoring
- Flexibility of Closure
- Visualization
- Fluency of Ideas
Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).
Tools & technology
Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Data base user interface and query software .
Specific to Food Preparation Workers
Full profiles
This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Food Preparation Workers or Bakers — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.
More comparisons
Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.
- Food Preparation Workers vs Cooks, Restaurant
- Food Preparation Workers vs Cooks, Short Order
- Food Preparation Workers vs Fast Food and Counter Workers
- Food Preparation Workers vs Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
- Food Preparation Workers vs Butchers and Meat Cutters
- Food Preparation Workers vs Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
- Food Preparation Workers vs Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
- Food Preparation Workers vs Cooks, Fast Food
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Singulariki. "Food Preparation Workers vs Bakers." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/food-preparation-workers-vs-bakers
Singulariki. (2026). Food Preparation Workers vs Bakers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/food-preparation-workers-vs-bakers
@misc{singulariki-food-preparation-workers-vs-bakers,
title = {Food Preparation Workers vs Bakers},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/compare/food-preparation-workers-vs-bakers}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.