# Handout 01.22: Careers Card Sort

Name: ______________________ Date: __________ Partner: ______________________

## The ten cards (cut apart, one set per pair)

Pay ranges are yearly, for the New York area, and every one is marked [update]. Your teacher will check them against the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the NYS Department of Labor before you use them for real decisions. [Sal: update from bls.gov/ooh and NYS DOL Long Island wage data.]

| Career | Education needed | A day in the life | Pay range | Cluster |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Dishwasher** | None past high school. Trained on the job in a day. Some start at 14 with working papers. | Runs the dish machine, scrubs pots, keeps the line stocked with clean pans, mops at close. On your feet, wet, fast. The kitchen stops if you stop. | $28,000 to $34,000 [update] | Hospitality and Tourism |
| **Prep cook** | None past high school. Trained on the job. | Arrives before the cooks. Washes, peels, chops, portions, and labels everything the line will need. Reads the prep list, checks dates, rotates the walk-in (FIFO). | $30,000 to $38,000 [update] | Hospitality and Tourism |
| **Line cook** | High school. A culinary certificate helps but many learn on the line. | Works one station (grill, saute, fry, salad) during service. Reads tickets, times every plate, keeps the station clean and stocked. Hot, loud, fast for four hours straight. | $33,000 to $42,000 [update] | Hospitality and Tourism |
| **Baker** | High school plus a certificate or an apprenticeship. | Starts at 3 or 4 in the morning. Measures by weight, mixes, proofs, bakes, and decorates. Same recipes every day, done exactly. Quiet kitchen, early finish. | $32,000 to $45,000 [update] | Hospitality and Tourism |
| **Restaurant manager** | High school plus years of experience, or a two-year degree in hospitality. | Schedules the staff, orders the food, checks the books, handles the customer who is unhappy, covers a station when someone calls out. Nights and weekends. | $50,000 to $75,000 [update] | Hospitality and Tourism |
| **Caterer or personal chef (owns the business)** | A certificate or a culinary degree plus business skills. A food handler's permit and a business license. | Plans menus with clients, shops, cooks in other people's kitchens or a rented one, prices every job to make a profit, does the books at night. No two days the same. | $40,000 to $80,000, varies with the business [update] | Hospitality and Tourism |
| **School food service director** | A four-year degree, often in nutrition or food service management. | Plans menus for hundreds of students that meet federal rules, manages the cafeteria staff and the budget, orders from vendors, handles allergies and special diets, reports to the district. | $60,000 to $90,000 [update] | Hospitality and Tourism; Education and Training |
| **Registered dietitian** | A graduate degree in nutrition, a supervised practice program, a national exam, and New York State certification. | Meets with patients or clients in a hospital, a clinic, a school, or a sports team. Reads lab results, plans diets for medical conditions, teaches. More talking and reading than cooking. | $65,000 to $85,000 [update] | Health Science |
| **Food scientist** | A four-year degree in food science or chemistry; many have a master's. | Works in a lab or a factory. Tests why a product spoils, how to make it safer or last longer, what happens to a nutrient when it is cooked. Runs experiments, writes reports. | $70,000 to $100,000 [update] | Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics |
| **Health inspector (food safety)** | A four-year degree in a science plus a state exam. | Visits restaurants, school cafeterias, and stores without warning. Checks refrigerator temperatures, hand sinks, dates, and cross contamination. Writes the report that can close a kitchen. | $55,000 to $75,000 [update] | Health Science; Government and Public Administration |

## Sorting mat

**Sort 1: By education needed.** Write each career under the group it fits. Then name one job in each group that you did a piece of in this unit.

| A: None past high school | B: A certificate, an apprenticeship, or a two-year degree | C: A four-year degree or more |
|---|---|---|
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| A piece I did in this unit: | A piece I did in this unit: | A piece I did in this unit: |

**Sort 2: What do they mostly work with?** Write each career in one column. Write one reason on the line for the hardest one to place.

| Mostly food and equipment | Mostly people | Mostly data and reports |
|---|---|---|
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |

Hardest to place: ____________ because ________________________________

**Sort 3: By pay.** Put the ten careers in order from lowest to highest starting pay. Then circle the one that surprised you.

1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________
6. ____________ 7. ____________ 8. ____________ 9. ____________ 10. ____________

## "Would I like this?" self-check (individual)

Pick two careers from the cards.

| | Career 1: ____________ | Career 2: ____________ |
|---|---|---|
| The day in the life I would rather have | [ ] | [ ] |
| The education I am willing to do | [ ] yes [ ] no [ ] maybe | [ ] yes [ ] no [ ] maybe |
| The pay would be enough for the life I want | [ ] yes [ ] no [ ] not sure | [ ] yes [ ] no [ ] not sure |
| Something from this unit I would use on day one | | |

I would / would not (circle one) like to be a ____________ because ________________________________________________.

Sentence starter: "I would like ____________ because I like to ____________. I would not like ____________ because ____________."

Keep this sheet in your FACS folder. It comes back in Unit 2 (who I am) and Unit 7 (careers).

* * *

## Teacher key

Sort 1: A: dishwasher, prep cook, line cook. B: baker, restaurant manager, caterer or personal chef. C: school food service director, registered dietitian, food scientist, health inspector. Accept line cook in B and restaurant manager in A with a reason; the cards say both paths exist.

Sort 2 (accept a reason for any placement): food and equipment: dishwasher, prep cook, line cook, baker. People: restaurant manager, caterer, dietitian. Data and reports: food scientist, health inspector, school food service director (the director is the card that moves; people and data are both right).

Sort 3 by the low end of each range as printed: dishwasher, prep cook, baker, line cook, caterer, restaurant manager, health inspector, school food service director, dietitian, food scientist. Accept any order that follows the printed numbers after they are updated.

Self-check: scored complete or missing only. There is no right answer.